Humblebola

By: Toby Pavon

After missing six shots from the arc, most of them short, Evan Nelle pulled up from two steps behind the arc to unleash a seventh triple for the game. The La Salle Green Archers were down four points with half a quarter left to play when Nelle decided he would risk the three. SWISH!

UP’s lead was down to 1 point.

Before this game, UP had never lost in games where they carried the lead into halftime. In fact just minutes before Nelle’s jumper, it looked like they were going to keep it that way, forcing La Salle’s guards to fumble the ball, forcing MVP Kevin Quiambao to make errant passes, and then converting them to easy points in the paint.

The following play Francis Lopez, the prized recruit of the Maroons, straight out of high school, torn away from the clutches of a professional contract, missed a jumpshot leading to a rebound by Jonnel Policarpio. The ball found its way to the hands of Nelle once again, who dished it to Quiambao inside for his patented floater– SWISH!

La Salle takes the lead.

UP is still in a good place. They’re just down one point, all they need is a basket to get the lead back. They have, after all, done this several times already before. Malick Diouf is already on a roll with 21 points on 10 of 12 shooting from the field!

JD Cagulangan misses a layup, allowing Nelle to collect the rebound and rifle it to Quiambao who misses the layup but gets fouled on the second attempt. To cheers of “M-V-P!” from the green crowd inside Araneta Coliseum, Quiambao kisses his arm and swishes the freethrows, one after another.

La Salle has a 3 point lead.

It’s just one possession. That’s hardly a safe lead, especially with 4:10 left in the game. The UP Fighting Maroons have lots of time to save their season, to reclaim the championship they lost and to climb back to the top of the UAAP mountain. Lots of time to overcome a 3-point lead.

So they went with ‘ol reliable, their captain, CJ Cansino, who earlier had already hit their lone three pointer of the game. Alas, it rimmed out. That’s okay, UP is known for its defense this season. Tight, physical, suffocating. Just get a stop.

And so they do. Policarpio misses a layup which Diouf rebounds and passes it ahead, finding its way to Harold Alarcon who is fouled by Quiambao.

UP takes it out on the sidelines.

It’s just a 3-point lead.

Gerry Abadiano misses the layup. Another missed opportunity to cut down what is, logically, actually a one-possession lead. But with time running down, and options running out, that lead began to feel big, not just to the Maroons on the court, or the coaching staff on the bench, or the tens of thousands of Iskos and Iskas screaming their lungs out in the arena, but to the Lasallians as well.

With each miss by the Green Archers, the green half of Araneta groans in disappointment, while the maroon side cheers with eagerness, hoping that their team can overcome what is just a one-possession deficit.

The UP Fighting Maroons find themselves in unfamiliar territory. They are clearly the more experienced team of the two Finals contenders, with many in their lineup having been to the Finals on multiple occasions, with one championship to show for it. They are also the most talented team assembled, many of whom are prized recruits, one of which almost made it to the professional leagues before even graduating high school.

So there was no reason why UP would struggle to do the very essence of basketball, which was to put the ball in the basket. And so UP hopefuls had every reason to believe that their team had it in them to mount a comeback.

It’s just a 3-point lead.

Yet as each show by the Maroons rims out, or gets blocked, the green side of Araneta explodes with cheers. Cheers normally reserve for going on big runs to close out the game. Cheers normally reserve for pulling away through making big shot after big shot to stretch the lead. No, these were cheers for keeping the lead.

De La Salle on the other hand was a team on a mission. Equally talented and athletic as their Finals opponent, they became the butt of jokes in previous seasons for letting their loaded lineups go to waste, not even making the Final Four. Under a new head coach with a modern outlook on basketball, their fans expected great things from them, and up until reaching the Finals, they have delivered.

Using a combination of their athleticism and size under the guidance of Coach Topex Robinson, and with the services of a superstar MVP in Kevin Quiambao, the Green Archers have shaken off whatever bad reputation clung onto them, and showed that they are a team that can hang on to win, even in the closest of margins.

It’s just a 3-point lead.

The two teams duke it out long after the arena barker cries for the “LAST TWO MINUTES” of the game. Both teams unable to make a basket, just the same, but their crowds with different reactions. Exasperation from the maroon, anticipation from the green. They could feel it, they could feel their team was in control, as though holding on to a double digit lead as the time wound down.

The story of these Finals teams were stories of redemption. UP wanted redemption for their Finals loss against Ateneo. They got it, knocking them out handily in the semi-finals. La Salle wanted redemption from their abysmal campaign last season where they barely missed out on the Final Four. They got it, not only barging into the Final Four, but also back into the Finals.

Both teams want to end their season with the championship, and thus far a single possession separates them from it.

It’s just a 3-point lead.

Ever since losing game 1 by 30 points, De La Salle formulated a game plan that mainly consisted of limiting their turnovers and matching UP’s physicality, especially in transition. This allowed the Topex Robinson-coached team to rout UP in game 2, exposing a blaring weakness in UP’s execution- They couldn’t execute in the half court.

Late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarter, it looked like UP had already solved their halfcourt execution problems, getting midrange jumpers from Alarcon and Cagulangan to go, and punishing La Salle’s attempts to double the ball handler on pick and rolls by having Diouf slip into the paint where he was nigh unguardable.

But old habits die hard, and in the thick of battle, it’s the true nature of teams that come to rise. Aware of this hole in UP’s execution, DLSU knew their assignment. No transition opportunities for UP, defend in transition and UP will struggle to execute in the halfcourt– and they did.

So with less than a minute left in the game, La Salle was playing keep-away as though they had a comfortable lead.

It’s just a 3-point lead.

Kevin Quiambao who had been excellent all game, throws an errant pass caught by CJ Cansino. Big mistake. DLSU fans gasp, UP fans come to life. This is it, a transition opportunity.

With time running out on the game, and on their season, and their championship aspirations, Cansino threw the forward pass to Harold Alarcon who immediately pulled out to the three point line, set his feet, went up for the shot to tie the game– and missed.

The clock stops as Quiambao grabs the rebound. There’s 7 seconds left. The green side could smell the championship.

It’s just a 3-point lead.

La Salle inbounds the ball amid heavy pressure from the Maroons, it finds its way to Quiambao who is fouled. Another rain of M-V-P chants fills the arena. Quiambao hesitates in kissing his arm before flinging the first freethrow. A miss.

With 5 seconds left in the game, Quiambao goes back to his ritual. He kisses his arm and releases the shot.

It’s now a 4-point lead.

With that freethrow, the air in the arena changed. It was over. But the Maroons were not giving up.

A series of timeouts are called, substitution after substitution made. It was the longest 5-seconds of basketball for both sides. 5-long seconds for UP hopefuls to pray their team can pull of a miracle. 5-long seconds for Lasallians to pray their team holds on.

The Maroons draw up one last play to salvage their season. A season that some have described as “championship or bust”. Off the inbound, Malick Diouf is seen attempting a three pointer from the corner. It misses. Francis Lopez gets the rebound and lays the ball in without much resistance.

It’s now a 2-point lead.

2 seconds were burned from that attempt. The Green Archers make another mistake and give up the ball. Reyland Torres tries to tie the game, he misses. Quiambao gets the round and is sent to the line for the last time.

Two made free throws later, the De La Salle Green Archers are crowned the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Champions. Although the final score shows a close game, on the court, in the arena, La Salle had long pulled away for the win, with a 3-point lead.