The DLSU Green Archers withered away in a third-quarter scoring drought as they succumbed to the pressures of the nettlesome UP Fighting Maroons, 73-65, in Game One of the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament Finals earlier tonight, December 8, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao put in a Herculean effort despite the tough loss, stuffing the stat sheet with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and an assist for the Green Archers. “Motor” Mike Phillips was another unsung hero, keeping the Green-and-White’s second-half offense alive with 17 points, alongside 11 rebounds and five assists.
Quentin Millora-Brown, who was absent from their Round Two matchup, was the big man of the night for the title-vying Fighting Maroons as he chalked up 17 points, nine rebounds, and three assists to be hailed as the Player of the Game. Meanwhile, JD Cagulangan and Francis Lopez also starred in UP’s first Season 87 victory over La Salle as they pounded out 13 points each.
Flimsy upper hand
The Green Archers came in riding on an unbeaten momentum against the Fighting Maroons, defeating them twice in the elimination round. However, the Taft-based squad was down in the first four minutes of the match as Millora-Brown slammed a bucket to give the Maroons an early five-point cushion, 7-2. The Green Archers finally got into the right groove as they doubled their offensive efforts and capitalized on second-chance opportunities. Quiambao sank a field goal followed by back-to-back two-pointers from Gollena, giving La Salle a two-point advantage, 11-9. The first quarter ended with a low-scoring output as the Green Archers took the lead, 18-11.
The second quarter saw the Green Archers maintaining their momentum, making the most out of charity shots handed to them to widen their lead by seven. UP was poised with a prime opportunity as the guards, Gerry Abadiano and Cagulangan, went on a scoring spree, excelling on both offense and defense as they trimmed the deficit to four, 29-25. The careless Green Archers’ flashy defense caused them to enter the penalty with four minutes left on the clock. Seemingly rattled by UP’s pressure on the court, La Salle could not execute plays as Cagulangan scored from an offensive rebound, 34-30. The defending champions were hungry for a victory, which led to evident frustration on the court, committing mistakes that allowed UP to catch up. La Salle slowly lost grip of their big lead and opened up Cagulangan to score off a jumper to cut the lead to one, 38-37. Much to the delight of the Lasallian faithful, Lian Ramiro scored a shot from beyond the arc to stop the bleeding, 41-37. Despite having the lead, the Green Archers were outplayed by the Fighting Maroons in the second quarter, notching 23 points compared to UP’s 26.
Under pressure
Entering the second half still in control, the ballers from Taft were shell-shocked by a sudden UP rally in the third quarter, leaving DLSU scrambling for an answer for the rest of the match. Indomitable pressure from the UP defense proved difficult for the Lasallians’ offense, limiting the Green-and-White to only nine points for the third canto. Millora-Brown’s relentless production from inside the paint ignited an 8-0 run for the Fighting Maroons as they finally regained the lead, 45-41. CJ Austria attempted to surmount the deficit by striking a fastbreak putback and a trey to quickly reassert a gutter for the Taft mainstays, 48-47. However, Cagulangan quickly retaliated with a beyond-the-arc basket, followed by a reliable Lopez layup to bolster a four-point lead for the crown’s challengers heading into the closing quarter, 54-50.
In a similar fashion, despite better handling by the DLSU Green Archers, they continued to struggle against a valiant Maroon defense in the fourth quarter. Rallying from an early 9-2 run, Millora-Brown carried on with his unconquerable antics, slamming in two baskets with a successful free throw each and boosted by a prudent three-pointer from Sean Torculas to push UP to their biggest lead yet, 63-52. Silence from the La Salle side was left untreated as in-the-paint attempts persistently ricocheted due to the firm blocks by the Diliman stalwarts. Poised to fill in the gap left by a stagnant Quiambao, M. Phillips’ presence in the paint with hook shots and putbacks of his own kept the defending champions at bay, even closing out the gap to four in the home stretch, 67-63. But costly turnovers by the pressured Archers disallowed them to complete a comeback as Abadiano’s decisive trey, alongside a last-minute three-point output from the penalty line by Harold Alarcon and Cagulangan, steered Game One of the Finals series to UP’s way, 73-65.
Following La Salle’s heartbreaking defeat, Head Coach Topex Robinson shared that this game will serve as a learning experience for the whole team. When asked about Quiambao’s limited one-point showing in the second half, Robinson explained that UP did well in defending the reigning MVP: “They did a great job defensively in stopping KQ. We weren’t able to make adjustments down the line…I mean, the only thing I told the team is there’s a reason that this is a series. You don’t win the championship by just winning one game. You need to win two games, so we still have a chance. We’ve been in this situation before. We just have to keep on being positive.”
As their Game One victory slipped away, Robinson shared that the La Salle team will hold on to their bond as they take on their remaining games in the Finals series. “The good thing about the team in the dugout was nobody was blaming nobody. We’ve gone this far because of how we really became a united front and we will not let any negativity get in our way. We will play this championship the way we should play, as a big family.”
Now dealt with their first loss of the season against the Fighting Maroons, the Green-and-White must make haste and recover swiftly as they aim to force a deciding match in Game Two of the best-of-three Finals series on Wednesday, December 11, at 5:30 pm at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
DLSU 65 – Quiambao 19, Phillips 17, Gollena 11, Austria 7, Ramiro 5, Agunanne 2 David 2, Marasigan 2, Dungo 0, Gonzales 0, Macalalag 0, Rubico 0
UP 73 – Millora-Brown 17, Cagulangan 13, Lopez 13, Abadiano 9, Torculas 7, Bayla 5, Alarcon 4, Torres 3, Fortea 2, Felicilda 0, Stevens 0, Udodo 0
Quarter Scores: 18-11, 41-37, 50-54, 65-73
