This year, they did not just rule the UAAP. They conquered Philippine collegiate basketball.
The De La Salle Green Archers put a fitting end to an amazing year with another diadem, the Philippine Collegiate Champions League national title as they turn back Southwestern University 70-61 to sweep the best-of-three finals series.
Jeron Teng, who was adjudged finals MVP finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists Almond Vosotros, who saw limited action in Game 1 due to a sprain, had 15 points, on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
This is the second PCCL title of La Salle. They last won this tournament in 2008 against Ateneo. After losing to this same SWU team in their opening semis match, the Archers thrashed FEU and escaped past San Beda to enter the finals.
The Cobras started the game strong, leading by 4 towards the latter part of the first period. But a 10-0 run, capped off by a buzzer-beating triple by Gabby Reyes gave the Green Archers the upper-hand at the end of the quarter, 19-16.
La Salle stated to pull away in the second period, building a 15-point lead thanks to the torrid shooting of Teng and Reyes.
Under 4 minutes in the third, Thomas Torres was called for an unsportsmanlike foul after allegedly hitting SWU’s Monbert Arong with a close fist. He was ejected from the match.
The lead remained in double digits as back-to-back treys by Vosotros kept the Cobras at bay. Jason Perkins closed out the quarter with a three-point play to give La Salle a 53-42 lead.
Southwestern mounted a run to start the fourth period as they trimmed the gap to just 5 points. Their momentum however was cut short when Cobra Daryl Goloran was slapped with a technical foul after being whistled for his 5th foul. The Archers then scored 12 unanswered points for a 68-51 lead with under three minutes left in the game.
The Cobras however refused to yield as Mark Tallo led the comeback trail to put his team within 7 with 40 ticks remaining.
It was too late though for any come-from-behind heroics as Jason Perkins sealed the win and the title with a baseline jumper.
After a shaky preseason followed by an erratic start in this year’s UAAP, the Green Archers regrouped as they won all but one game en route to their first title since 2007.
With only LA Revilla not coming back, La Salle is poised to go for back-to-back UAAP titles next year.
Box Scores
DLSU (70) – Teng 16, Vosotros 15, Perkins 14, Reyes 7, Bollick 5, Van Opstal 4, N. Torres 4, T. Torres 3, Tampus 2, Montalbo 0, Salem 0
SWU (61) – Sanjo 16, Tallo 15, Goloran 12, Arong 10, Mohammed 3, Holper 3, Siewe 2, Bautista 0, Panerio 0, Ortega 0, Bregondo 0
Quarterscores: 19-13, 34-22, 53-42, 70-61