Back to the 90s: La Salle, UST face off in finals

The teams duking it out this coming Wednesday are only repeating a history marked by the close clashes of the Tigers and the Archers back in the 90’s.

It was in 1993 that the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) installed the Final Four format, allowing the top four teams in the league to vie for the right to battle in the championship in the semifinal round followed by a best-of-three finals series. The league previously pitted the top two teams directly in the finals with the first seed claiming a twice-to-beat advantage.

The players, the fans and the rest of the league’s stakeholders would have to wait another year though to witness the Final Four in all of its glory. The UST Growling Tigers stormed through the league that season with an immaculate 14-0 record to clinch the championship via a rule that awarded a season-sweeper the trophy, foregoing the Final Four. It was a start of a run of dominance for UST as they followed it up with three straight championships, all of which came against the DLSU Green Archers in the finals.

From 1993 up until 1996, the Growling Tigers just seemed to have La Salle’s number as teams led by Chris Cantonjos, Bal David and Dennis Espino would trounce the Green-and-White’s Mark Telan, Tonyboy Espinosa and Don Allado time after time.

In 1998 though, the Green Archers began their own run of glory. Led by the dominance of Allado in the post and the sweet-shooting sophomore Ren-Ren Ritualo, La Salle won the UAAP title against the defending champion FEU Tamaraws. The next season, DLSU had a shot at revenge as they battled UST in the final round of 1999. Seeking to exorcise the ghosts of the past years, La Salle came out on top, winning in three games after dropping the first, and the Green Archers went on to win four straight championships of their own.

A reunion of sorts

It took 14 long years, but these two schools meet yet again on the biggest stage of collegiate sports–the UAAP finals. The names at the back of the jerseys may not be the same, the schools that these players fight for remains.

La Salle marches into the finals seeking to win their first championship since 2007 led by Jeron Teng, Almond Vosotros, LA Revilla, Arnold van Opstal and Jason Perkins. UST on the other hand, last won the UAAP championship in 2006, and their banner will be carried by Jeric Teng, Karim Abdul, Aljon Mariano and Kevin Ferrer.

Both teams played their first game of the season against each other, with UST coming away with an overtime victory. At the tail end of the season though, the Green Archers played their last elimination round game against the Growling Tigers, and they came away with a five point win.

La Salle barged into the finals by winning a virtual best-of-three with FEU and are currently riding the momentum of a nine-game winning streak, while UST overcame a twice-to-beat disadvantage against the NU Bulldogs to make it to the last dance and they earned the distinction of being the first fourth seed to oust a first seed since the Final Four was installed.

The Teng Dynasty

Though the history between these two teams is rich and spans decades, one of the most popular subplots in this series is the duel between the Teng brothers. Both the sophomore Jeron and the graduating Jeric have supported each other during each other’s UAAP careers, but the possibility of facing each other in the finals put it up by a notch as the two were spotted in each other’s Final Four games donning shirts with slogans supporting one another.

Before UST’s second game against NU, the younger Teng even had some words of encouragement for his brother, and he recalls saying, “Sinabi ko sa kanya to give it his all because this might be his last game so wala ng reserved-reserved.”

The two have matched up four times in the UAAP, with both La Salle and UST taking two games apiece. Jeron has had the advantage statistically though, averaging 13.8 points, nine rebounds and 2.5 assists over the four meetings, including a game-winning shot in last year’s second round game. Jeric on the other hand has averaged 12 points, 4.3 rebounds and two assists in their meetings, highlighted by a stellar 23 points and six rebounds in the first round this year.

What adds to the excitement is that both players occasionally defend each other due to their relatively similar positions on the perimeter. “Siyempre kami ng brother ko di namin maiwasan na mag bantayan kami,” shares Jeron.

The next chapter

The rich history of these two teams who boast of identical four-peats from a few decades ago plus their similar championship droughts add fire to the upcoming best-of-three championship duel between these two teams. Couple that with the popular rivalry between the Teng brothers and the people are guaranteed to witness a battle for the books.

No matter how friendly the two sides may seem with one another, the harsh reality is that only one team can emerge victorious. In a throwback to the 1990s, La Salle and UST battle once again for the UAAP championship for the first time since 1999, and the Green Archers will find out whether their arrows are still sharp enough to tame the ferocious Growling Tigers.

This is a battle bigger than any of the personalities or storylines involved. This is a battle of history. and the next chapter is about to unfold.

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UAAP Season 76 Finals Schedule (Best of Three)

Game 1: October 2, 3:30 PM, SMART-Araneta Coliseum
Game 2: October 5, 3:30 PM, SMART-Araneta Coliseum
Game 3: October 12, 3:30 PM, Mall of Asia Arena (*If necessary)