La Salle accomplished a lot on Sunday.
Not only did the Green Archers exact revenge on last year’s Finals rival University of the Philippines, but they also halted the Fighting Maroons’ four-game win streak and bolstered their Final Four positioning in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
But more importantly, they notched a character-building win heading into the second round of elimination.
‘Whatever the result may be, as long as we give our best, we’re good. We knew we were going up against the defending champions so it’s going to be a test of character,’ coach Topex Robinson said at Araneta Coliseum after their 72-69 win over UP.
‘This is going to be a character game for us but there’s still a lot of games to be played so this is not the end of the deal for us, it’s just the end of the first round.’ La Salle’s character was tested for the whole game, but none more important than their endgame composure.
With the score tied at 66-all, UP gunner Terrence Fortea sank a huge triple that gave the Maroons a 69-66 lead with just 1:27 to go in the game.
Almost immediately, Earl Abadam launched a triple of his own to tie the game at 69-all with 1:13 to go.
Francis Nnoruka’s turnover at the 1:01 mark signaled the beginning of the end for UP, as it resulted in a Vhoris Marasigan basket in the paint, putting La Salle in the driver’s seat for good, 71-69, with 28 seconds left.
Luis Pablo paced La Salle with 14 points and six rebounds while Jacob Cortez also had 12 to his name. Mike Phillips dominated with yet another double-double of 12 points and 19 rebounds to push the Green Archers to a 4-3 record.
Harold Alarcon turned in an all-around game to the tune of 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but to no avail. Nnoruka’s 12 points and 14 rebounds also went down the drain as UP tripped to an identical 4-3 card.
At the end of the eliminations’ first round, UP and La Salle are caught in a three-way logjam for the third seed with Ateneo, which also has a 4-3 slate.