There is nothing more exciting than a do-or-die game. The path to the UAAP basketball throne gets narrower as the days pass by, and both the DLSU Green Archers and the UST Growling Tigers know how every possession counts for this upcoming Finals Game Three.
Trailing the Tigers 1-0 and facing elimination, the Green Archers came back with force to set a series-deciding Game Three.
Tying the series at 1-1 has changed things for both teams. Momentum has shifted. The once comfortable Growling Tigers are now in a do-or-die situation just like La Salle after they failed to take the second game.
Slipping early
Losing by a single point was a heartbreaker and at the same time a wake-up call for the boys from Taft as they fell in Game One of the Finals, 73-72. Kevin Ferrer, Karim Abdul, and Jeric Teng became the thorns in the Green Archers’ sides as the Green-and-White could not contain the three’s scoring barrage of 56 combined points.
The Growling Tigers went lights-out from three-point range, shooting a percentage of 41.2 compared to La Salle’s 30.8. Moreover, the Green Archers’ mellow play during the course of the game prevented them from getting their momentum going. Sloppy plays haunted the Green-and-White, as they were missing key opportunities to either take the lead or even win the game.
Despite the lousy performance by the Green Archers, they still had a chance to take Game One during the dying seconds of the final period.
Revenge of the Archers
DLSU convincingly won the second game of the finals with a scoreline of 77-70. The team from Taft dominated the boards, 57-39, a whopping 18 rebound difference that led to DLSU’s 18 second chance points as opposed to UST’s six. Norbert Torres made-up for his dismal performance in Game One to have a monster game with a statline of 16 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a perfect eight of eight from the charity stripe.
UST was hounded with foul trouble all game long as they committed 22 fouls, 17 of them coming from their starters.
Emphasizing the need for more point production in the fourth quarter for their next game, head coach Juno Sauler expressed his desire for the team to score more in the fourth quarter of Game Two, in which the team only had a 13-point output.
Unexpected aftermath
Nobody expected the Green Archers to go this far in the season. With a newly installed coach two weeks prior to the start of the season and a 3-4 first round record, this year’s basketball team looked headed for another depressing finish. Yet, it all comes down to this, deadlocked at one game apiece, the DLSU Green Archers and the UST Growling Tigers play one more game for the UAAP Season 76 championship.
Which color will reign supreme when it is all said and done? Catch the thrilling do-or-die game at 4 pm on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
____________________________
Read our Game 1 recap at:
http://thelasallian.com/2013/10/02/uaap-ust-upsets-la-salle-in-finals-opener/
The second game’s recap can be read at:
