The DLSU Green Archers reflect on their nail-biting, tear-inducing 76-75 win over UP that kept them alive in the UAAP Season 87 finals.
It felt serendipitous, that huge comeback by the Green Archers in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball finals. That is how DLSU co-captain Mike Phillips put it.
“What happened in the fourth quarter?” he was asked in the post-game press conference. Flushed red, seemingly still breathless from what had just transpired, Mike replied, “God, man. God is so good. Not just because we won, it’s because God’s been there for us in the highs and lows.”
Indeed, it did feel like the universe was on La Salle’s side in those final two minutes of the game. Down 0-1 to the UP Fighting Maroons in the finals series, Kevin Quiambao took over with huge, definitive back-to-back three-point shots to put the defending champions just one point ahead. From there — despite missing seven crucial free throws in the fourth and still making some errors — they somehow managed to hold UP down to force a do-or-die Game 3.
DLSU head coach Topex Robinson himself was in disbelief. “I don’t know what to say. I’m just lost for words,” he said after the game. Two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao was brought to tears at the final buzzer.
A completely valid reaction. After all, for some time in that final quarter, UP seemed poised to claim their title there and then. But with a mix of belief, trust in one another, and good old-fashioned fun, the Green Archers powered themselves to stay alive in yet another thrilling UAAP finals.
Never say die
At the end of DLSU’s painful Game 1 loss, Phillips revealed that a heartfelt post-game speech by Earl Abadam, who was injured in October and was ruled out for the rest of the season, lifted the Archers’ spirits. It was all about belief, as the co-captain explained.
Earl’s words stuck with Mike in Game 2.
“Actually, it’s so crazy that you asked that,” Mike said to The GAME after being asked to recall Abadam’s speech. “It was in that moment, we were down like two or three [points], and I see Earl while I was [thinking about] the speech he gave…I looked, and I saw Earl, and he was praying. And, I mean, he’s just a testament of belief. A testament of faith.”
Coach Topex echoed the same sentiment.
“I was just really holding on to our faith. We were telling ourselves that if it’s going to be given to us, it’s going to be given,” he reflected. “But we just kept on holding on to each other. We were making mistakes, but these guys were just supporting each other. I think it’s really the bond that was set.”
Cliché as it may sound, the Lasallians wore their hearts (and faith) on their sleeves last night. Even as UP cheered wildly after every shot, getting so close to securing the championship, a never-say-die attitude on the other side of the court forced another chapter in this fiery series.
Trusting the process
Before tip-off of Game 2 was the UAAP men’s basketball individual awards ceremony, where Kevin Quiambao was honored with the title of MVP, his second in a row. So, many may have wondered why the King Archer himself did not start for La Salle that same evening.
Coach Topex revealed after the game, “Well, when we were planning about how we’re going to approach Game 2, there were a lot of discussions amongst the coaches. And I guess the moment I just told KQ, ‘KQ, you’re not going to start.’ [Quiambao replied], ‘Okay, Coach.’
“That’s already a sign of somebody that trusts the system, trusts the person that’s calling it. And you don’t hear any questions from him. He’s not going to do it. I mean, no reaction. He said, ‘Whatever’s good for the team, I’ll do it, Coach.’”
EJ Gollena, who has emerged as one of La Salle’s top scorers in both games of the finals series thus far, feels the same way, especially as someone who stepped up in a big way this season.
“I guess one word to describe everything that’s happening right now is trust,” EJ told The GAME. “I’m really, really blessed and thankful that my coaches, my teammates really trust me to provide them energy, and I just do what I can do.”
This has been the theme of the Archers this season — every player fulfilling his role for the team, whatever that role may be, whether on the bench or off it. As Mike shared, even the players who don’t see playing time have a huge impact on the games.
“Even though I’ve been here for like [four years], and I’m a veteran, but my job in the team is to try to help these guys stay focused. And their job, I realize, is to help me, just help the veterans to not be over-focused, overlocked, and to enjoy,” the co-captain shared.
Enjoying every moment
La Salle, to some extent, must feel like they’re already on borrowed time. Game 3 was not promised and looked almost lost — and yet, they have once again managed to make a statement comeback as they did in Season 86 to keep themselves in the fight. So, when Sunday’s all-or-nothing match comes around, they will be coming out with as much energy as possible.
“I’m so excited,” Mike said, not even 30 minutes after the final buzzer of Game 2. “But I’m more excited because I’m going into it with a band of brothers a band of coaches that they’ll never abandon me and I will never abandon them and so we’re gonna go in there and just trust each other and just have a really fun time.”
He calls it a “one-of-a-kind experience,” one that he one day hopes to share with his children. And part of what makes it all the more special is the Lasallian community.
“I just want to give all my praise to the crowd…I’ll say this time and time and time again: the De La Salle crowd is there for us when we win. But when we’re losing, when we’re going through those hard parts, that’s when they show their true colors. My ears were ringing. I got goosebumps when I looked at the crowd. Just being with that, it’s just something that I can’t put into words. They were screaming their lungs out. It was just a sea of green.
“I think, really, they’re the reason why they pulled us through. Just ear-piercing support from them.”
Coach Topex is equally as excited to be back out on the court after the next few days of recovery and preparation for the team. Game 3 is going to be an all-out battle — but in the process of leading his team to glory once again, he still hopes to simply enjoy what they have already accomplished together.
“You know, the reason why you play the finals is for these kinds of moments. You prepare for those moments and nobody could take that away from you. So, we just keep on enjoying it.”
Banner image from Kieran Punay of KLIQ Inc.