De La Salle University pulled off an 87-77 victory over top-ranked National University on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to force a rubber match in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball semifinal.
Jacob Cortez delivered 13 points, four assists, and two steals, while Mike Phillips had 12 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks for the fourth-seeded Green Archers, who will try to secure a Finals berth with a victory in Game 2 on Saturday.
Kean Baclaan has returned from an MCL injury, and EJ Gollena from suspension.
“We’re extremely grateful and blessed to be here. Again, we just tried to prolong the series,” said head coach Topex Robinson.
“Kean only got back in practice last week, so the guys decided to put in more work with this lineup. We’re up against the No. 1 team, so it’s always going to be a battle,” he added.
Behind Mason Amos, JC Macalalag, and Cortez, the Green Archers extended their lead to 71-54 in the fourth quarter.
“Thank God Mason and Kean are back with us. Mason hit a couple of big shots, Kean played composed. We’re still focused on the next game, which is do-or-die. We know NU’s going to come out hard—it’s up to us to focus on what we’re going to do,” said Cortez.
Gollena and Vhoris Marasigan chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Macalalag and Pablo scored nine apiece, and Amos had eight points, including two triples in the fourth quarter.
Figueroa paced NU with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, followed by Omar John with 12 points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, defending champion NU nipped Ateneo, 67-66, to forge a title showdown with unbeaten University of Santo Tomas.
The Lady Bulldogs, ranked second in the stepladder playoffs with a 12-2 record, will be making their 11th straight championship appearance.
NU held a 9-1 run behind Ann Pingol, Tin Cayabyab, and Marga Villanueva to tie the count at 66-all, one minute remaining. Angel Surada split her charities off Nigerian center Sarah Makanjoula to seal the win.
“First of all, I want to thank the coaches and teammates for their effort. We dedicate this game to Coach DA. I’m proud of my teammates for their efforts because they didn’t give up until the final buzzer,” said Surada, who had 15 points, eight rebounds, six steals, two assists, and one block.
NU’s seven-year reign ended when UST won Season 86, but the Lady Bulldogs managed to reclaim the title last season.
“Speechless. As I said, we weren’t playing that well during this game, but the positive thing for this game is our players, everybody, did not quit. They didn’t give up until the end even though things weren’t going our way. I can’t teach them that desire to win — they themselves, they didn’t quit until the final buzzer,” said NU head coach DA Olan.
Villanueva paced NU with 16 points, including four triples, alongside three rebounds, two steals, and one block.
Cayabyab had 15 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Pingol added 10 points, six rebounds, five steals, and one assist.
Kacey dela Rosa delivered 18 points, 22 rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Camille Malagar also had 18 points with six rebounds, two steals, and one assist as the Blue Eagles improved to third after three consecutive fourth-place finishes. (PNA)