MANILA, Philippines – In a thrilling turn of events, the De La Salle Green Archers denied the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons a chance to sweep the UAAP Season 86 Finals, securing a resounding 82-60 win in Game 2 on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
With a mammoth crowd of passionate fans cheering them on, the Green Archers displayed exceptional resilience and determination, putting the Fighting Maroons on their heels from the start.
La Salle's dominance was evident in their impressive bench performance, outscoring UP's bench by a significant 47-24 margin. Additionally, the Green Archers capitalized on second-chance opportunities, grabbing 16 rebounds compared to the Maroons' four.
Despite trailing by three points after the first quarter, La Salle tightened their defense in the second quarter, shutting down UP's offense. The Maroons struggled to find their rhythm, failing to score a single field goal in the first 11 attempts of the quarter.
La Salle capitalized on UP's struggles, outscoring them 20-11 and taking a commanding 44-38 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, UP's Rookie of the Year, Francis Lopez, attempted to spark a comeback with an and-one play, narrowing the gap to seven points at 52-45. However, La Salle responded with a decisive 13-4 run, extending their lead to 65-49 heading into the final frame.
The Green Archers maintained their momentum in the fourth quarter, building their lead to as much as 20 points, 71-51, following a step-back jumper by JC Macalalag with seven minutes remaining.
Despite a late surge by the Maroons, who managed to cut the lead to 15 points, 56-71, La Salle remained composed and controlled the game. Evan Nelle delivered a critical pull-up jumper with 5:25 left in the game, sealing the Green Archers' victory and sending the series to a thrilling Game 3.
This marks the third consecutive finals series in which UP has won Game 1 but lost Game 2. In both Seasons 84 and 85, the Maroons were forced into do-or-die games against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
La Salle's head coach, Goldwin Monteverde, acknowledged the challenge that lies ahead but encouraged his team to learn from their Game 2 performance and focus on the upcoming do-or-die match.
"It is what it is. We're gonna look inside us kung ano ang dapat naming ginawa. Importante rito may Game 3 pa, so ando'n pa 'yung tsansa namin," Monteverde said. "Learn from it lang."
The stage is now set for a nail-biting Game 3 on Wednesday, where both teams will battle it out for the UAAP Season 86 championship.
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