The UP Fighting Maroons and the De La Salle Green Archers are set to make history as they face off in the UAAP men’s basketball Finals for the first time ever. The highly anticipated Game 1 of the best-of-three Season 86 Big Dance will take place at the Mall of Asia Arena today.
At 6 p.m., the UP Fighting Maroons, who finished as the top seed in the elimination round with a remarkable 12-2 record, will go head-to-head against the De La Salle Green Archers. This achievement marks the first time in UP men’s basketball history that the team has secured the top seed in the league. The two teams had a split season series, with UP winning the first round matchup, 67-64, on October 18, and La Salle emerging victorious in the second round, 79-88, on November 5.
In the women’s division, the 8-peat seeking NU Lady Bulldogs and the UST Golden Tigresses will kickstart their Finals duel at 12 p.m. at the same venue, preceding the highly anticipated men’s game.
Having capitalized on their win-once advantage in the Final Four, the UP Fighting Maroons, who were crowned champions in Season 84, are determined to redeem themselves after losing the crown to the Ateneo Blue Eagles just seven months ago. UP’s deputy coach, Christian Luanzon, expressed the team’s determination, stating, “We’re already seeing the finish line. It’s just a matter of us putting the pedal to the metal in the race. For us, it’s all about taking advantage of what we built all throughout the year and finishing it up hopefully the way we wanted to, the way we envision it.”
One area of concern for the Fighting Maroons is their offensive consistency, as they shot just 30 percent against the Blue Eagles in the semifinals last Saturday. Luanzon acknowledged this challenge, saying, “We shot the ball 30 percent. It was a defensive game, that’s one thing. At the end of the game, you gotta put the ball in the hoop. We’re gonna try to look and clean up some things we can improve offensively on how we can efficiently make more baskets and to continue on in the defensive end.”
On the other hand, the De La Salle Green Archers finished the elimination round just behind the Fighting Maroons with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record. Similar to UP, La Salle took full advantage of their win-once incentive by defeating the NU Bulldogs, 97-73, in the semifinals last Saturday.
After a six-year absence, the Green Archers have made a triumphant return to the Finals and are eager to secure their first title in seven years. Led by soon-to-be crowned MVP Kevin Quimbao, the team aims to follow in the footsteps of past Green Archers champion basketball teams, including the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2016 squads. These celebrated teams were honored with a championship ring ceremony at La Salle’s Henry Sy Sr. Hall last Monday.
Expressing his gratitude and excitement, La Salle head coach Topex Robinson said, “It’s just a great honor and a privilege to be part of this family. I was watching the clips, and you know, during those years back in 1999, I was a fan of the DLSU Green Archers. I got to see one of my idols, Dino Aldeguer. So it’s nice to be a part of this family, a part of this community. It just brings so much honor and responsibility at the same time to really challenge ourselves and push ourselves. It’s gonna be hard coming into the Finals, but knowing that we have the whole De La Salle community behind us brings us so much energy and something to really fight for. Animo La Salle!”
The stage is set for an exhilarating Finals showdown between the UP Fighting Maroons and the De La Salle Green Archers. As both teams aim to etch their names in UAAP history, basketball fans around the world eagerly await the outcome of this historic clash.
Source: The Manila Times
