Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan kept the faith, paving the way for them to play crucial roles in De La Salle University’s march to the title of Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.

Amos, who sparked controversy when he made a shock move from Ateneo de Manila University to La Salle, stressed that he couldn’t believe that he was able to bounce back from injury to help the Green Archers beat University of the Philippines in the best-of-three University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) finals series.

The Filipino-Australilan forward nailed crucial free throws down the stretch that allowed La Salle to pist an 80-72 victory in the deciding match last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Again, that one was probably the hardest thing, the hardest trial I had to face this year — the MCL (medial collateral injury). I was actually kind of shocked again that I was able to recover that fast, but again, it’s a credit to the doctor and the physical therapist because they got me back. I was able to play in the Final Four and the finals as well,” the 6-foot-5 Amos said.

Amos added that he will take his holiday break to rest and recover before preparing for yet another grueling battle in Season 89 next year.

“Again, just strengthening my leg. I think my knee’s okay, but the leg surrounding it, I gotta strengthen the muscles and everything again because, again, I wasn’t 100 percent coming into the series, and yeah, just do a lot of rehab in the offseason,” Amos said.

“I can’t even explain it. Everything is worth it. All the hard work, all the days that we fell, all the trials that God gave us — it’s all worth it.”

Meanwhile, Baclaan, who also had an MCL injury in the middle of the season, said he and Amos fought through the pain to help La Salle win its 11th UAAP title.