CLOSING TIME: UP set to deliver final blow; La Salle eyes equalizer

Game today:

(Mall of Asia Arena)

5:30 p.m. — UP vs La Salle

For the fourth consecutive season, University of the Philippines (UP) is at the threshold of winning the title after drawing blood in the opening game of a best-of-three finals series.

But can these Fighting Maroons close it out?

The challenge now is for UP to get the job done against a dangerous, equalizer-seeking defending champion De La Salle University when they clash in Game 2 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament championship today at the Mall of Asia Arena.     

The Diliman-based squad tries the first of two cracks at winning back the throne it once occupied three editions ago at 5:30 p.m.

UP displayed a defensive masterclass with a spirited second-half comeback to beat La Salle, 73-65, in the series opener last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

A strong fourth-quarter surge behind the trio of center Quentin Millora-Brown, JD Cagulangan and Gerry Abadiano gave the Fighting Maroons their first win over the Green Archers in five meetings including the last two games of last year’s finale.

Hoping to banish the ghost of their previous two championship showdowns where it squandered a 1-0 series lead against Ateneo de Manila University and La Salle, UP will try to sustain the momentum it built in Game 1 to finish off the Green Archers.

“We never dwell on the past. So right now, as I said, part of the process of winning a championship is you know, winning Game 1. So, we got Game 1 right now so we’re gonna prepare for Game 2,” UP coach Goldwin Monteverde said.

“So, we’re gonna do our best. We’ll do everything to get it, and when that game day comes, whatever comes our way, we’re gonna face the challenge there.”

The Fighting Maroons did everything right in the second half of Game 1 after trailing in the first two quarters.

Millora-Brown, a 6-foot-10 one-and-done center, towered over La Salle’s frontcourt, scoring a career-high 17 points and plucking down nine boards.

Graduating guard Cagulangan, who nailed the game-winning trey in Game 3 in Season 84 against Ateneo to end UP’s 36-year title drought, provided stability inside the court while Abadiano delivered the crucial blow late in the fourth.

Rookie Jacob Bayla also did an amazing job holding down back-to-back Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao to just one point after dropping 18 in the first half.

UP, however, knows La Salle will come at them hard to send the series into a decider on Sunday.

“I mean, really just being ready to make adjustments on the fly is the biggest piece to this. They’re gonna make their adjustments after this (Game 1) and we need to be ready to make our adjustment to what they will do,” Millora-Brown said.

Having their backs against the wall is nothing new for the Green Archers.

La Salle also dropped the series-opener last year in a blowout and answered with a rout before completing an upset over the fancied Fighting Maroons.

“We just have to slug it out, that’s all we can say. We just have to make sure we will give ourselves a chance to win,” Green Archers coach Topex Robinson said.

Quiambao, a Gilas Pilipinas mainstay, is sure to charge with all cylinders smoking to keep La Salle’s repeat bid alive. He’s looking to bounce back from a forgettable second half last game where he went 0-of-6 from the field.

Out to back him up are Mike Phillips, EJ Gollena, CJ Austria and Joshua David, who are all expected to step up to help keep the Green Archers’ title-retention bid alive.