2007 DLSU Green Archers: Against the odds

In 2005, the DLSU Green Archers returned the 2004 UAAP Championship Trophy after learning that they fielded 2 ineligible players. This warranted the UAAP board to penalize the entire La Salle community by suspending the school from every sporting event in the league for the 69th Season in 2006. This caused an outrage among members of the DLSU community who claimed that it was too harsh of a penalty for the mistake of just one team.

La Salle did not play a single UAAP game that year, and basketball fans did not know what to expect from the Green Archers in their return the following season. Back then, the team was led by veteran players JVee Casio, TY Tang, Cholo Villanueva, and Rico Maierhofer who had to bide their time during the season-long hiatus.

After dealing with all of the controversy from the year before, the Green Archers put everything behind them once they set foot on the hardcourt, eager to exceed the expectations set upon them. Coach Franz Pumaren’s team immediately grabbed the championship in the 2007 Filoil Flying V Pre-season Cup, winning the league for the second straight year. But they were just getting started, as the Green and White had set their sights on a bigger goal: the UAAP Championship.

Elimination round

The Green Archers and the ADMU Blue Eagles both had chances to finish the season with a 10-4 record. The Green Archers faced the Red Warriors in their final game and were down by just one point with three and a half seconds remaining in the game. La Salle’s best free throw shooter, the star guard Casio, was put on the charity stripe, but he split his two free throws, resulting to an overtime period. UE, led by guard Marcy Arellano, would claim the match and a season sweep after the extra five minutes as they handily beat the Green Archers, 92-84.

The Red Warriors’ sweep, a feat unaccomplished since UST did it in the 1993 season, dominated the news reels after the eliminations. Following the league rules, the Red Warriors advanced straight to the UAAP Finals, awaiting the winner of the step-ladder semifinals. The second place team was armed with a twice-to-beat advantage against the winner of a knock-out playoff between the third and fourth seeds.

Both the Green Archers and the Blue Eagles finished the season with an identical 9-5 record and were forced to have a tie-breaker match, while the UST Growling Tigers and the FEU Tamaraws each had an 8-6 record and battled it out for the fourth spot.

“Two is greater than three”

Archrivals La Salle and Ateneo faced each other five times in the 2007 UAAP Season. The Blue Eagles were victorious in both games of the elimination round, 80-77 and 89-87, but the Green Archers won the tiebreaker match, 70-69, at the end of the eliminations for the twice-to-beat advantage.

Ateneo then trounced UST, the winner of the playoff for the last Final Four slot, in the battle between the third and fourth seeds, setting up another battle between the Blue and the Green.

The rivals were then set for at least one more match for the season, this time with a ticket to the finals at stake. With DLSU having a twice-to-beat advantage over Ateneo, the Green Archers were in the driver’s seat and were the presumed favorites in the match-up. Nevertheless, the Blue Eagles managed to extend the series in a tight game which was highlighted by Chris Tiu’s game winner. Ateneo took the match, 65-64, as Ford Arao scored 19 points to lead their campaign for a second game. Ty Tang had 20 points to lead all scorers but it was not enough to lift La Salle.

This set the stage for a do-or-die match between the bitter rivals, held on September 30, 2007. The announcers dubbed the winner-take-all game as “the only game that matters”, drawing a crowd of more than 23,000 people to the Araneta Coliseum. It was a highly intense match-up, as both teams gave their all for the right to face UE in the finals. DLSU managed to maintain a small lead throughout majority of the game and they had an answer for every Blue Eagle comeback. Villanueva, playing in his last season for the squad, led La Salle with 13 points, while Casio sealed the game with just four seconds remaining by hitting two free throws.  The Green Archers topped the Blue Eagles, 65-60, earning the right to face the UE Red Warriors and their perfect record in the finals.

“This is the only time two is greater than three,” Pumaren jubilantly exclaimed at the end of the game.

Underdog victory

Coming into the Finals, the Red Warriors were the heavy favorites after they dominantly swept the rest of the league, winning most games by double digit point margins. They were also well rested; they had not seen action in 20 days coming into the first game of the finals, compared to the exhausted Green Archers who had to outlast Ateneo. All signs were pointing to a Red Warrior championship but unfortunately, nobody told the Green Archers.

La Salle won the first game by just one point, 64-63, even after the Red Warriors were in control throughout the majority of the game. UE dominated the rebounding category with a 60-31 edge although the Green Archers forced the Red Warriors to commit 31 turnovers, which they easily converted into 25 points.

With 14 seconds remaining on the clock, Rico Maierhofer gave DLSU the lead, 64-63, by splitting his free throws. UE had one more chance to win the game, but the potential game-winner taken by Mark Borboran rattled out as time expired. Tang once again led the charge for Pumaren’s squad with 17 points, nine of which coming in the final period. Casio contributed 12 points of his own while Maierhofer had seven points and nine rebounds in the upset victory.

Return to glory

The second game came a few days later and it was a completely different story. The Green Archers led the entire way and showed no signs of being the underdogs. La Salle led after every quarter and stamped their class on UE. The combo of Cholo Villanueva and JVee Casio paced the Green Archers with a combined 31 points and the team kept their composure and the championship clinching game, 73-64. The heady duo of Casio and Villanueva combined for an average of 27 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals throughout the Finals and they bagged Co-Finals MVP honors.

As the dust cleared, the Green and White drums were still banging and the Green Archers were on the court celebrating with the entire community. Once again, the Green and White were on top of the heap, a territory all too familiar to Franz Pumaren and the Green Archers.