MANILA, Philippines — The De La Salle University Green Archers failed to repeat as champions after falling to the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 62-66, in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Finals Game 3 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
Rallying from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter, La Salle fought valiantly but ultimately fell short to yield the title to UP.
Painful as the defeat, coach Topex Robinson said the Archers will learn from it as they look to reclaim the championship next year.
“As painful as this is, I mean, we will learn from this. In the next two weeks, it’s gonna be preparation for Season 88 for us. We’re excited about it and, I mean, it’s– as long as we know in our hearts that we gave our best, there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” said Robinson.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win when we were almost down and out with that 14-point lead but we tried to recover and you know, just those shots that they make big time. Shots that we missed big time so that’s the– if we’re gonna sum up the season, that’s what happened in the finals.” he added.
Two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao may be leaving La Salle for his KBL stint but the Archers remain deadly, at least on paper, with blue-chip transferees Kean Baclaan, Jacob Cortez, and Mason Amos finally eligible to play next year.
But for now, Robinson and company are going to lick their wounds and tipped their hats off to the Fighting Maroons.
“Obviously, congratulations to UP. It was really an epic game that we played against them. It went down to those few possessions again, which is what we were really hoping for coming into this game,” said Robinson.
“We played it until the final buzzer and we did it the way a true La Sallian should do it. We just kept on fighting.” ANDRE SOTELO
