A third straight final for La Salle, a first for National U in over a decade.
Only one dream will remain at the final buzzer today as the Green Archers and the Bulldogs dispute the last finals ticket in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The duel is set at 3:30 p.m. with the survivor marching on to the best-of-three titular showdown against titleholder University of the Philippines, which is in its fifth straight finals appearance.
Reigning champion National U and unbeaten Santo Tomas collide at 11:30 a.m. in Game 1 of the women’s finals following the opening clash of NU-Nazareth School and Far Eastern U-Diliman at 9:30 a.m. for the U16 crown vacated by University of the East.
But all eyes are on the encounter between the dribblers from Taft and Jhocson to complete the final cast in the men’s hoops war as well.
UP, the second seed, maximized its twice-to-beat advantage with a pulsating 82-81 escape act against No. 3 Santo Tomas for the first seat. But the top-ranked NU failed to do so by bowing to the third-seeded Green Archers in Game 1, 87-77.
Momentum is on La Salle to finish the job done now, especially with the completion of its army in the nick of time following the recovery of aces Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan from MCL injuries.
The duo provided an unparalleled boost to the morale of coach Topex Robinson’s charges, complementing the lead of Elite Team member Mike Phillips and Jacob Cortez in taking Game 1 after being swept by NU in the elims.
“We just tried to prolong the series. We’re extremely blessed and grateful to have one more game,” said Robinson, who has not missed the UAAP finals since inheriting the La Salle program in 2023.
NU is aware of that edge by La Salle now, on top of an advantage in momentum and psychological warfare entering a sudden death battle.
“Given naman na ‘yon ‘eh na may psychological edge sila,” said the NU mentor Jeff Nap.
