Jacob Cortez seals the DLSU Green Archers’ thrilling Game 1 win over UP in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Finals.
De La Salle University turned the tables on the UP Fighting Maroons, 74-70, to draw first blood in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball finals on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
After trailing by as much as nine points the back-and-forth affair, it was a late Jacob Cortez triple that sealed the Archers’ gutsy win against the Fighting Maroons.
Benched for a good chunk of the fourth quarter, Cortez once again shone in the clutch, hitting an step-back triple over Reyland Torres that sealed the final scoreline with 27.4 seconds left in regulation.
“Well, it was a really fierce battle between two competitors, and knowing that this is gonna be something that will be a so emotionally packed ballgame, we’re just glad and fortunate, and blessed that we were able to sustain the onslaught of Harold Alarcon, he really took over and was clutch for that team,” DLSU head coach Topex Robinson said post-game.
Prior to Cortez’s late-game heroics, the Archers relied on the dirty work to chip away at the deficit, with physical defense on State U coupled with late buckets from captain Mike Phillips, Luis Pablo, and Doy Dungo setting up the epic finale in the final seconds of regulation.
It was a Pablo bucket at the 3:21 mark of the fourth quarter which gave DLSU a 70-68 lead, which was followed by a split from the charity stripe from Phillips, and the step-back triple from Cortez that sealed the deal.
Cortez finished with a team-high 21 markers in an impressive 23 minutes of play on Wednesday, while Doy Dungo made a triumphant return to the lineup to add 15 points. Kean Baclaan, who successfully stepped up for Cortez, chipped in nine points and six assists in his first UAAP Men’s Basketball finals appearance.
Though Cortez was undoubtedly the closer, Robinson also made sure to highlight the dirty work done by the rest of the Archers, which allowed them to erase State U’s deficit in the first place.
“I guess we just didn’t stop when they were making those big runs…you may talk about Jacob, but the reason why Jacob was fresh because Kean gave us a good support. We were able to rest Jacob for a long time on the bench because Kean was delivering also what was our expected from him,” Robinson said.
“Again, total team effort, guys really stepped up. Guys who don’t usually give us those numbers not only on offense but also defensively, that was one of the things that really gave us this win,” added Robinson, with DLSU limiting UP to 12 points in the final period.
Like Robinson, Cortez was quick to deflect credit, recognizing his teammates’ efforts in securing the crucial victory.
“I’d just like to give credits to Kean and Doy also. Doy stayed ready and I could tell just from practice alone that he doesn’t know if he’s gonna be in the rotation. But if he does, he’s ready and I can see him doing extra work, just shooting around after practice.Then si Kean naman, he did a good job playing off the bench for me and I’m just so proud of them,” said Cortez.
Harold Alarcon paced the Fighting Maroons with a career-high 34 points — the highest UAAP finals output since Thirdy Ravena’s 38-point explosion in Game 2 of their UAAP Season 81 title clincher also over State U.
However, only Francis Nnoruka finished in double digits behind Alarcon, with the Nigerian big man pouring in 13 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
DLSU will now go for the jugular this Sunday, December 14, as they seek to end a rollercoaster season with a UAAP Men’s Basketball championship.
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.