With a flick of his wrist, Almond Vosotros silenced the entire SMART-Araneta Coliseum as he attempted a potential game-winning three pointer.
Only a few seconds were left in the first game of the UAAP Season 76 Men’s Basketball finals, and the shot meant everything for both sides. As it soared through the air, both the Lasallians and Thomasians in the venue and watching on television held their breaths.
It wasn’t meant to be though for La Salle as the ball bounced off the rim. Chaos ensued afterwards in a mad scramble for the ball and LA Revilla had a chance to win the game for the DLSU Green Archers, but the hulking Karim Abdul sealed the win for the UST Growling Tigers with a block as time expired.
This marked the end of La Salle’s improbable nine game winning streak, but more importantly, it put the Green Archers in a do-or-die situation for the second game of the finals, slated at 3:30 pm on October 5, Saturday, at the same venue. Another win by UST will give them their first championship since 2006, and it will complete an improbable run to glory after a bumpy elimination round that saw them barely qualify for the semifinals as the fourth seed.
A loss by La Salle is no reason for tears, and many are quick to forget the shaky 3-4 first round win-loss record of this team that had many members of the community up in arms. The nine game winning streak of DLSU catapulted them from fifth place to second, and eventually a finals berth in an improbable run by one of the youngest teams in the league.
True enough, each player on head coach Juno Sauler’s roster is still eligible for next season, but you can count on this team not to let this opportunity for a championship slip away. This DLSU team does not know how to quit. Despite a 17 point deficit in the first quarter of the opening finals game, the Green Archers stormed back and tied the game by the second period. They led by four entering the final quarter, and had a golden opportunity to steal the game at the final possession. Despite all of the excuses that they can offer up with another loss in Game Two, expect this team to come out running and hustling in an attempt to force a third game.
In order to get the win, Sauler shares, “Arnold van Opstal and Jason Perkins, we wanted them to get touches [in Game One], hopefully they get more in the next game. That’s where we generate our offense. It’s either UST decides they can defend us in the post one-on-one, then that’s fine with us we’ll keep milking the post. If they collapse, I’ll just tell the guards to be open and ready to shoot.”
15 out of the 19 winners of Game One in UAAP history have gone on to win the championship since the best-of-three finals system began, and UST will bank on being the 16th team to do so. The history between these two teams tells a different story though and it has become a popular bit of trivia over the past few days that over the past four meetings of these two schools in the finals, the loser of the opening game has won the championship. The latest meeting between these teams was in 1999, when La Salle failed to win at the buzzer after rookie guard BJ Manalo missed–a similar situation to this season. The Green Archers eventually won the next two games to clinch their second straight championship on their way to four straight titles.
With one win, UST can complete their historic season of firsts and end their championship drought. One win from La Salle though will keep them alive and set up a winner-take-all showdown on October 12.
A win from UST will close the chapter of this season, while a win from DLSU will allow the Green Archers to continue their road to redemption after failing to win the championship since 2007.
Will these teams play for one more game or will the confetti descend from the rafters?
As the Green Archers and Growling Tigers cross paths once again, only one team can walk away with the win.
