THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE: La Salle, UP settle everything once and for all

Game today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5:30 p.m. — La Salle vs UP

One last game. One final push.

The day of reckoning comes for defending champion De La Salle University and University of the Philippines (UP) when they conclude the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball best-of-three championship series today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Only the team that wants the crown more will leave the venue basking in glory after the no-tomorrow Game 3, tipping off at 5:30 p.m.

Like in their historic first-ever finals showdown last year, the Green Archers and Fighting Maroons go the distance after splitting the first two meetings.

La Salle will use the momentum of its dramatic come-from-behind Game 2 win to replicate the same series result in the previous season and hoist the squad’s 11th title overall.

But it won’t be easy, especially against a familiar rival hungry for redemption after back-to-back runner-up finishes.

“I’m sure this (Game 3) is gonna be all-out. Whoever wanted it more, will come out as champions,” Green Archers coach Topex Robinson said.

La Salle rose from the grave and survived elimination behind back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kevin Quiambao and Mike Phillips, rallying from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit in a 76-75 escape last Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena to level the series.

The Green Archers also lost Game 1 last year before sweeping the next two for their return to the throne since winning it all back in 2016.

“I guess we’re just going to be approaching it the way we used to approach it. You know, this is the second time we’re going to play in a Game 3 finals and at this point, we don’t have to worry about it yet, but it’s going to be an exciting ballgame,” Robinson added.

Quiambao, who celebrated his MVP coronation by leading his squad to fight another day, knows that past results and performances no matter how heroic won’t matter anymore.

“It’ll really be all about who wants it more and who has mental toughness,” he said.

UP will have to be mentally tougher in their fourth straight finals Game 3.

The Fighting Maroons collapsed in the last three minutes of Game 2, allowing the Green Archers to mount a fightback while committing costly miscues.

Season 86 Rookie of the Year Francis Lopez missed four free throws with under a minute left and UP trailing by one. He also turned the ball over in a crucial miscue while Gerry Abadiano misfired on a potential championship-clinching trey as time expired.

Still, the Fighting Maroons are keeping their heads up and believe they can settle an unfinished business this time.

“The series isn’t over yet, there’s still a Game 3. Hopefully, we’ll get Game 3,” graduating gunner JD Cagulangan said.

The veteran guard, who drilled the title-winning triple in Game 3 of the Season 84 finals against Ateneo de Manila University, vows UP will go all-out to claim the school’s fourth UAAP crown overall.

“Of course, we’ll work hard for it. It’s going to be a tough battle. We’ll learn from our mistakes last game and address our lapses,” Cagulangan said.

The Fighting Maroons will come in full strength after forward Reyland Torres was cleared of a one-game suspension despite his ejection late in the fourth quarter of Game 2 after two unsportsmanlike fouls. The league gave Torres, who also escaped with a stern warning following a spat with Robinson during their elimination first round match, due to the nature of his second unsportsmanlike foul which was merely to stop CJ Austia’s fastbreak attempt (advantage foul).

UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde will also rely on one-and-done Quentin Millora-Brown and Harold Alarcon, who was limited to just five points in Game 2, to bring the crown back to Diliman.

“It takes two games to win a championship. We’ll do our best. We’ll be ready,” Monteverde said.