Reeling from a three-game losing streak and trailing by as high as 16, the DLSU Green Archers mounted a gutsy turnaround to topple the defending champions, the UP Fighting Maroons, 87-82, earlier tonight, November 22, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Vhoris Marasigan paced La Salle with 17 points, two assists, and three rebounds, while Mike Phillips delivered a dominant double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Earl Abadam and Jacob Cortez also stepped up, adding 14 points each.
On the other end, Rey Remogat clinched 25 points, and eight assists, to lead the UP Fighting Maroons, backed up by Francis Nnoruka, who tallied 14 points, while Gerry Abadiano and Gani Stevens notched 12 points each.
Motors revving
The game began with Jcee Macalalag hitting a three-pointer to give La Salle an early 3-0 advantage. However, Abadiano’s three-pointer gave the Fighting Maroons the lead, capitalizing on DLSU’s struggles and forcing three straight turnovers while sinking shots from the charity stripe. UP’s offensive surge continued with Nnoruka and Remogat extending the lead to 14-4, prompting a DLSU timeout. La Salle’s offense went cold, and their sloppy fouls allowed UP to dominate at the line. Nnoruka’s and-one play pushed the margin to 17-4 before Macalalag ended the Archers’ six-minute scoring drought with a floater. However, UP remained in control, with Remogat’s long three stretching the lead to 22-6. Cortez’s free throws and a triple from the returning Mason Amos briefly cut the deficit, with Dungo’s foul shots and a three-pointer bringing the score to 24-15. An altercation between EJ Gollena and Nnoruka then ensued, leading to the former getting ejected while a bench warning was issued for the Green Archers. Terrence Fortea finished the quarter with a floater, leaving the Fighting Maroons ahead after the first quarter, 26–15.
Harold Alarcon opened the second quarter with a smooth midrange jumper to extend UP’s lead to 28-15, but Vhoris Marasigan and Doy Dungo contributed a three and a two to trim it to 28-20, followed by a steal that gave La Salle a spark. Still, Palanca responded on the other end, and although Phillips muscled in a basket, Remogat countered with a three to keep UP ahead. Phillips then ignited a scorching personal run, scoring three straight baskets to pull La Salle within striking distance before capping his fourth consecutive make with an and-one that cut the deficit to five, 34-29. Phillips refused to cool down, sinking his fifth straight shot to bring the score to 36-31. Belmonte added a bucket though his celebration drew a technical that allowed Macalalag to knock down the bonus free throw. Phillips continued to battle inside, making one from the line after being doubled. Abadam hit a tough midrange jumper and later drew a foul before Phillips added another inside finish. Phillips then closed the half with a brilliant one-two stop, slicing what had been a 14-point hole down to just three, 44-41.
Making every moment count
With momentum on their side, the Lasallians capitalized immediately as they battled UP for boards, culminating in back-to-back second chance points to retake the lead early in the third, 45-44. However, Nnoruka answered as he drove to the basket and converted on an and-one basket. Both squads then traded baskets from driving to the paint, converting on layups and drawing fouls to set up a high octane trade-off throughout the quarter. With three minutes remaining on the clock, Phillips delivered a spin move dunk that put Nnoruka on the poster as the Lasallian faithful roared, matching the UP crowd’s intensity. In the dying minutes, Marasigan took over as he delivered momentum-shifting baskets—drilling a fadeaway and following it up with a buzzer-beating trey at the top of the key to give La Salle a one-point advantage to end the quarter, 59-58.
The back-and-forth from both squads resumed with La Salle extending their advantage to four, 64-60. Remogat, sustaining his hot hand, struck from deep once again to keep the game within a point, but Marasigan countered with one of his own, 67-63. The Maroon point guard then drilled in another triple to spark another trade as Stevens backed him up inside the paint to retake the lead, 70-69, with the Lasallian big men unable to contain him. Another exchange ensued but Cortez, making up for recent struggles, came alive as he drilled clutch baskets that was capped off by a fadeaway three to give La Salle the lead at 76-74. Lasallian wings Abadam and Marasigan backed him up, delivering unanswered midrange shots to extend their lead to six, 80-74, with 1:49 to go. La Salle’s advantage was further supported as a hectic UP defense fouled Marasigan to put them on the penalty zone, with all ensuing free throws being converted. Abadiano converted on a triple to keep UP’s hopes up, followed by a crucial press that forced Amos to turn the ball over. However, the white shirts were unable to capitalize as Reyland Torres missed a crucial corner three-pointer to seal the victory for La Salle from Abadam’s made free throws. The Lasallians came home with a 87-82 victory over the second-seeded Maroons as time winded down, keeping their Final Four hopes alive as they head into their final matchup with the ADMU Blue Eagles.
After the crucial win, Marasigan reflected on his suspension that ignited him to deliver in the past few games despite the losses, “Nag-sisi ako sa sarili ko, and nag-sorry ako sa coaches and teammates ko. Sinabi ko sa kanila na babawi ako.”
(I blamed myself and I apologized to my coaches and teammates. I assured them that I will bounce back.)
Scoring leader Phillips then opened up his mindset through his faith heading into a career-defining game, “Kapit lang talaga… [God]’s telling us, ‘Trust me. Look for me and just come with thanksgiving,’” expounding on keeping a positive mentality filled with prayer and hope as the Green-and-White headed into the final stretch of their season. The star big man also gave credit to his teammates for instilling a strong mindset despite the skid, particularly Macalalag, who called for a meeting. “Jcee Macalalag called for a team meeting and had a wonderful speech. To see him grow and just address everybody was the kind of game God was preparing us for,” he shared.
(Just hold on… [God]’s telling us, “Trust me. Look for me and just come with thanksgiving”.)
The Green Archers return to action in the same venue, aiming to secure a Final Four berth at the hands of archrivals ADMU Blue Eagles, this Wednesday, November 26.
The Scores:
DLSU – Phillips 21, Marasigan 17, Abadam 14, Cortez 14, Dungo 8, Macalalag 6, Quines 4, Amos 3, Gollena 0, Gomez 0, Melencio 0, Nwankwo 0, Pablo 0
UP – Remogat 25, Nnoruka 14, Abadiano 12, Stevens 12, Alarcon 8, Palanca 7, Belmonte 2, Fortea 2, Alter 0, Bayla 0, Torres 0, Yniguez 0
Quarter Scores: 15-26, 41-44, 59-58, 87-82
