The DLSU Green Archers etched another historic chapter in the books as they claimed their 51st all-time rivalry triumph over ADMU Blue Eagles, 76-73, in Round 2 of the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament yesterday, October 31, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Stepping up for the Green-and-White, rookie Joaquin Tovera anchored the winning surge with a stellar statline of 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. He was backed by JC Macalalag, who sustained his Round 2 momentum by adding 11 points and three rebounds to secure the head-to-head advantage.
Despite the tough defeat, Jared Bahay paced the Ateneo offense in a valiant effort, putting up a near double-double of 18 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. He was closely trailed by Kieffer Alas, who matched the team-high with 18 points of his own, alongside four rebounds and three assists.
Erasing eagle advantage
Exploiting Jared Bahay’s outside marksmanship and clinical trips to the charity stripe, Ateneo quickly dictated the opening tempo. Even with Macalalag and Doy Dungo splashing early triples, the Green Archers bled points in the painted area, as the Blue Eagles mounted a double-digit cushion midway through the first canto. Amplifying La Salle’s early defensive lapses, Henry Agunanne was grounded with rapid foul trouble, picking up three quick personals that forced him to the bench. However, Tovera’s calculated floor generalship and a timely corner dagger from Earl Abadam in the dying minutes of the quarter kept the Green-and-White within one-ball possession, trimming the deficit to a manageable 20-17 at the first horn.
The momentum shifted drastically in the second frame as the Green Archers engineered a blistering offensive resurgence. While Shawn Tuano tried to preserve ADMU’s advantage with an early trey, Tovera relentlessly attacked the cup, finishing a contested layup over Kieffer Alas before splashing a clutch bomb from deep to erase the gap. Capitalizing on the transition spark, Mason Amos caught fire from downtown, burying back-to-back long-range daggers to forge a 25-all gridlock. The quarter descended into a seesaw slugfest characterized by bruising interior skirmishes and multiple deadlocks from the Ateneo frontcourt, highlighted by Sultan Baruwa’s rim protection. Refusing to yield, La Salle finally hijacked the lead at 34-33 with a crucial conversion from Vhoris Marasigan. Although Blue Eagle Ian Espinosa briefly snatched the lead back, Amos instantly retaliated with a strong finish in the paint. With under a minute remaining, Dungo executed a fluid spin move in the post to draw contact, converting the and-one play to push DLSU ahead. Putting a stamp on the dominant quarter, Tovera clamped down with suffocating perimeter defense to force a Bahay turnover, subsequently sinking a pair of charities to send the Green Archers to the locker room with a hard-earned 41-37 halftime cushion.
Think twice
Leaving the erratic first half behind them, the Green Archers appeared to have grown more astute to Ateneo’s schemes. Sporting a more deliberate disposition, they began taking their rivals eye for an eye with a more pronounced man-to-man stance. Nevertheless, the Blue Eagles stood defiant amid the creeping change, turning to an in-the-zone Tuano, who scored on a fastbreak and a putback to keep them within one, 42-41. Still luckless in the offense with a little over five minutes left, the green shirts finally found good fortune through the rookie-veteran duo of Tovera and Macalalag, with Tovera connecting from downtown and Macalalag proving relentless around the basket. Torment painted itself across the faces of the Katipunan-based squad as fouls, turnovers, and emergency shots mounted. A last-ditch effort saw Alas convert a getaway midrange jumper before Travis Roberts drained a three to cut the deficit to 51-48 for the white shirts, but all knew of a dangerous awakening brewing on the other side.
Bringing their newfound weapon into the fourth quarter, La Salle continued to bombard the Blue Eagles with defensive pressure. However, ADMU star Bahay instigated the next exchange of the contest with a huge triple, which Tovera promptly answered to preserve the lead, 55-51. Marasigan managed to add to the tally, but it took only a short stretch and another Bahay three to bring the match to a 58-all deadlock. As the heat briefly subsided on both ends, several shots rattled in and out for the Ateneans, while DLSU found a spark through Guillian Quines, who knocked down a timely fadeaway jumper off the bench. With only two minutes left, the two teams ended up trading one-point leads, but just as Bahay succeeded on another field goal and Ateneo thought they could escape with the win, a split-second miracle unfolded for the Green Archers as big man Agunanne threw down a dunk to send the game into overtime at 66-all.
51st win
As what felt like an agonizingly long five minutes began, the quiet Luis Pablo suddenly erupted with back-to-back baskets to recapture the advantage. Rookie Tovera also delivered the improbable, making it a six-point lead half-lying on the floor, 72-66. After a few hits and misses on the Blue Eagles’ side, Roberts broke through with an and-one, reigniting enough vigor for them to swat away Pablo’s potential answer on the other end. Nonetheless, La Salle chose to play the better poison, turning to Amos, whose three-pointer sent the white shirts into shambles. Two fastbreak plays by Alas threatened to unsettle an almost locked-in result, but the dagger had already been planted. A successful free throw by Agunanne and a Bahay turnover only drove the blade deeper as La Salle claimed the win, 76-73.
Emerging as the current frontrunner in the storied rivalry, DLSU Head Coach Topex Robinson reflected on the significance of the moment and the shared hope of shining on such a stage. “We all dreamed about the De La Salle-Ateneo games, the rivalry. Those are all for dreams,” he shared.
Acknowledging the team’s lapses and the demands of overtime, he stressed the importance of not dwelling on the moment, but instead looking ahead. “What’s important is we know that this is [going to] be a dogfight. This is [going to] be something that will never happen again,” he stated.
Turning to Player of the Game Tovera, Robinson further articulated his one wish, saying that they “hope that Joaquin stays to be that young guy that just enjoys basketball.” Amos praised the rookie guard’s composure under pressure, while fellow senior Macalalag, who talked about “embracing the hardship,” lauded his ability to control the tempo and welcomed the opportunity to guide him through his first year.
Tovera, who was assisted off the court with only 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter, remained a concern as the team awaited further updates. Even with other key players like Jacob Cortez seeing inaction, Robinson remained faithful and steadfast, affirming that they try to “do with what we have,” drawing from their “circle of safety” and the contributions of the likes of Mikey Cortez and Quines.
The Green-and-White now let “tomorrow take care of itself” as they prepare for another brawl with the peaking NU Bulldogs on Sunday, November 8, at 2:30 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 76 – Tovera 21, Macalalag 11, Dungo 8, Amos 8, Agunanne 8, Marasigan 6, Pablo 5, Abadam 5, Quines 2, Gagate 2, M. Cortez 0
ADMU 73 – Bahay 18, Alas 18, Tuano 12, Roberts 12, Kapihe 6, Baruwa 3, Espinosa 2, Rogers 2, Bongo 0, Cainglet 0, Espina 0, Leal 0
Quarter Scores: 17-20, 41-37, 51-48, 66-66, 76-73