THE DLSU Green Archers did not want to leave without a fight, as they were able to come back and give the UP Fighting Maroons a taste of their own medicine in Game 2 of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals, winning 82-60.
The Green Archers, who promised not to allow the second game slip away from them, handed the top seeded team a taste of a blowout loss at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday in front of 20,863 fans.
In what appears to be a repeat of Game 1, the Taft-based squad sailed away in the middle of the crucial quarters. The Green Archers outscored the Fighting Maroons 20-11.
All thanks to Francis Escandor’s three triples and CJ Austria’s big play, which helped catapult the club to a 44-38 advantage at the halftime break.
The Katipunan squad went scoreless for nearly the whole second quarter before CJ Cansino and Harold Alarcon made two baskets in the final 14 seconds.
La Salle maintained its strong shooting as Mark Nonoy and Joshua David joined the shooting party in the third quarter, turning a tight 54-47 lead into a huge 65-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter, and never looked back.
“I guess we really don’t wanna end this Finals right away. We just gave UP a good fight. Players really wanted it and they just tried to be prepared for the way it’s gonna be. These guys played with their hearts out,” remarked La Salle’s first-year head coach, Topex Robinson.
Escandor, a Davao native, led the Green Archers with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep. Meanwhile, David concluded with 12 points on four three-pointers, while Austria had 11 points.
“I’m just really, really happy that we got the win. Coming from a big loss, we really wanted to bounce back no matter what, our mindset was hindi kami magpapatalo this game. We really wanted to win and we showed it,” Escandor remarked.
CJ Cansino and Malick Diuof each finished with 11 points for the Fighting Maroons, with the Season 85 MVP also grabbing 11 rebounds. In a losing effort, Harold Alarcon tallied 10 points.
UAAP Men’s Basketball Awards
Meanwhile, individual awarding ceremonies were held prior to the much-anticipated Game 2 of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals. Kevin Quiambao was named Season’s Most Valuable Player, becoming the first local player to do so since Kiefer Ravena.
Malick Diouf, Rey Remogat of UE, Kevin Quiambao and Evan Nelle, and Ljay Gonzales of FEU were chosen as the Mythical Five. While Francis Lopez, a very promising UP Fighting Maroons entrant this season, was awarded Rookie of the Year.
The winner-take-all Game 3 rubber battle between De La Salle University and the University of the Philippines will take place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
