The annual La Salle Athletic League (LSAL) 2016-2017 Basketball Tournament ended with a thrilling double overtime (OT) game last April 17. After being down as many as 20 points, Finals Most Valuable Player Raphael Cu willed his team to a 92-89 win over Baroney to claim the championship at the Enrique Razon Sports Complex last April 17.
The student-organized competition by the La Salle Sports Commission (LSSC) lasted from January 7 until April 17 with 52 teams battling out in their respective brackets for a position in the playoffs in the latter part of the season. The league named its Mythical Five members who were at the top of their game throughout the entirety of the tournament: Alec Saubier from Baroney, Mark Chan from Rodrigo Duterteam, Renzel Yongco from Opayi, Cu from Air Force One, and James Calleja from Kalsonics, and also gave Top Gun’s Alain Barles the Rookie of the Year award.
Sweet Sixteen
Following the elimination round, the LSAL Men’s Basketball playoffs were set to begin on March 11. After weeks of hard-fought basketball, the top two teams from each of the eight brackets advanced to the playoffs, the sixteen of which were: the Legends, FMAC Boys, Rodrigo Duterteam, Teddycks, Negus, Razon Bros, Air Force One, 61st Eng, Cloud Buddies, Happy Ending, Baroney, Ohana, Kalsonics, Rich Want, Opayi, and MHP.
Air Force One and Baroney, who would later face each other in the finals, began their championship campaign in the round of 16 with statement wins. Air Force One’s Jolo Liwag led his team in a lopsided win against the 61st Eng and finished with 24 points in the 98-62 blowout. Meanwhile, Baroney demolished Ohana, 90-61, after Alec Saubier scored 28 points to carry his team to victory.
Elite Eight and Final Four
Fast forward a week later, on March 18, the Legends opened the quarter-finals and managed to slip past Opayi with a 90-89 win to advance to the next round. All the while, Air Force One continued its winning ways as it handed a lackluster Happy Ending team their first loss of the season in dominating fashion, 73-46. Baroney, which was bannered by former De La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers, continued its undefeated streak as well with a 61-45 rout of Negus, eliminating them from the playoffs. Marcus Henson from Rodrigo Duterteam was a force to be reckoned with as he recorded a triple-double with 35 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds en route to their 99-86 quarter-final victory over Kalsonics.
In the Final Four, Air Force One eventually halted Rodrigo Duterteam’s playoff campaign as Cu recorded a double-double with 27 points and 17 rebounds to advance to the finals. Similarly, Baroney was victorious against Opayi, booking themselves a spot in the championship game.
Double overtime thriller
The last game of the LSAL tournament was an exhilarating one as 40 minutes of regulation time was not enough. Air Force One and Baroney needed two overtime periods to crown the champion. Baroney led as many as 20 points in the second quarter, but Air Force One clawed its way back to snatch the title. Ian Lipio led the eventual champions in scoring as he amassed 29 points and backed it up with four rebounds and nine assists. Cu earned a double-double yet again with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Saubier and Aaron Manguera were the only players who reached double digits in scoring for the runners-up as they notched 26 and 10 points, respectively.
Baroney dominated the first half in stunning fashion. Air Force One, on the other hand, was in shambles as they consistently turned the ball over and had difficulty in knocking down baskets. Air Force One eventually fought its way back to the game behind Cu’s key plays in the crucial stages of the game. He made two of three free throws at the end of the fourth quarter to force an overtime period and made a three-pointer to extend the game to another overtime period. In the second overtime, he was able to knock down a go-ahead three-pointer to lead his team to victory and complete a stunning comeback.
Road bumps along the way
LSAL Commissioner Herbert Hans Leong mentioned that they had a difficult time managing the tournament since it was his first time at the helm and they had to handle 52 participating teams.
A problem encountered this season was the scheduling of games. Leong said that there were teams that backed out two to three days before their games despite the schedule being released two weeks prior.
He also pointed out that he was glad to have a new sponsor for the tournament, Kings of the Court, to join the likes of Titan and SLAM Philippines. “Dahil sa Kings of The Court, nagkaroon ng freebies ang mga special awardees. Mas lalo rin na-expose ang mga players ko since nag-ppost ang Kings of The Court sa page nila at may writeup din sila sa mga games namin.”
(Because of Kings of the Court, we had freebies for the special awardees. The players were also exposed on the Kings of the Court Page, which featured writeups on our games.)
Leong also mentioned that when he accepted the role as the commissioner, he always hoped that the tournament would end as soon as possible, but towards the end of the tournament, his mindset changed. “Nakakamiss din yung pumupunta tuwing Saturday at kumuha ng permit at magpa-sign ng forms sa security office,” the commissioner shared.
He concluded with a message to the participants and said, “Sa lahat ng participants this season, thank you sa inyo dahil nagparticipate sila at wala masyadong gulo, naging maganda naman yung mga games, at ang mahalaga, nag-enjoy kayo. Since first and last year ko to sa pagiging commissioner, Leong out! Thank you!
(To all the participants this season, thank you for taking part and there wasn’t much trouble. The games were enjoyable, and most importantly, you had fun. Since its my first and last year as commissioner, Leong out! Thank you!)
