Road to the Finals: Red-hot La Salle streaks to Last Dance

Levi Verora

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Look back at La Salle's perilous road to the finals.

RISING. Perkins has been a hit for La Salle. Photo by Rappler/Josh Albelda.

MANILA, Philippines—De La Salle University barged into the UAAP Finals for the first time since 2008. It has been a season full of ups and downs for the Green Archers but they have fully recovered and have strung up 9 straight wins to seal a finals date with University of Santo Tomas.

READ: Road to the Finals: UST

Rappler.com takes you back at how the Taft-based squad made it to the championship phase.

Overtime loss to start the season

The Green Archers were pitted against the Growling Tigers—the very same team they’ll face in the finals—on UAAP opening day.

It was a nip-and-tuck affair for most of the way. Both teams had their chances to win the game in regulation but it went to overtime.

However, the Green Archers was slow to adjust in OT as only Jason Perkins could provide the spark. UST managed to survive, 63-58 to hand La Salle a loss in their first game in UAAP Season 76.

Meltdowns against FEU and UE

In their first round encounter against FEU, the Green Archers looked good for most of the 4th quarter, leading by 13 points in the final 2:30 of action.

But just when everybody thought it was a done deal, the Tamaraws refused to roll over and die. La Salle wasn’t able to maintain the lead, allowing the then undefeated FEU side to rally and force overtime. The Tamaraws continued to roll in OT to pull off an 83-79 upset.

Against UE, the Taft-based squad also held a 10-point lead in the 4th period, before the Red Warriors’ subs Ralf Olivares and Dan Alberto conspired to bring them down with clutch baskets. Leading by 68-58 with 7:39 to go, UE came back and dealt La Salle jarring blows in the end game, leaving the Archers stunned with an 83-85 setback.

Pair of thrillers against Adamson

De La Salle survived the Adamson Soaring Falcons in two close encounters which can be considered their acid tests.

The Green Archers squeaked past the Falcons, 70-67 in their first round meeting but not before blowing a 15-point edge. Adamson clawed back from a 50-65 deficit to tie the game at 65-all. However, La Salle took advantage of Lloyd Abrigo’s costly errors in the end game and sealed the deal with 5 straight free throws.

It was an even closer scene in their second round match-up as the game went into overtime. In the final possession, Almond Vosotros picked up a rebound from a broken play and hit a short stab that gave La Salle a 70-69 win over the crestfallen Adamson side.

MR. CLUTCH. Teng has come up big for La Salle in crunch time. Photo by Rappler/Josh Albelda.

Teng shines against Ateneo

It was a tight battle from beginning to end in La Salle’s crucial encounter against rival Ateneo de Manila.

Before a jam-packed crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Green Archers trailed for most of the first half before the duo of Almond Vosotros and Perkins helped La Salle inch closer against the Blue Eagles.

In the final moments of the game, Kiefer Ravena forced a 64-all deadlock with 10.5 seconds left.

DLSU quickly called for a timeout to map out their eventual game-winning play: Jeron Teng attacked the lane and hit an off-balanced shot at the expense of Chris Newsome, to give La Salle the much-needed 66-64 victory.

The win pushed La Salle to solo 3rd, while sweeping Ateneo this season and leaving them far behind the team standings.

Scorching hot

Since then, the Green Archers have never looked back with their super sharp form in the second round.

After the victory against Ateneo, La Salle also downed UE (75-65 in OT), won an all-important game against National U (57-55), and swept the second round with a close win over UST (69-65).

They wounded up with a 10-4 card, good enough for a tie for the top spot.

Vosotros had a stellar first round, carrying the scoring load for La Salle. Arnold Van Opstal had a drastic improvement and he’s playing a career season. Perkins has stepped up and became La Salle’s go-to guy in the absence of injured Yutien Andrada. Teng became clutch in the second round and proved that he’s King Archer after all.

Coach Juno Sauler and the rest of the squad continued steamrolling in the playoff phase as they defeated FEU twice to enter the finals.

In the battle for the twice-to-beat incentive, LA Revilla waxed hot for 20 points, including 6 triples which helped La Salle beat FEU, 74-69. They built a huge advantage for most of the game before the Tamaraws tried to bounce back. However, Revilla and Teng hit the key baskets to push La Salle to safety.

In their next duel, FEU came out with guns ablaze, knowing they’re in a do-or-die situation. The Morayta 5 led for most of the match, but Teng and the rest of the Green Archers turned the game around in the final period to win, 71-68 and return to the finals for the first time since 2008.

In the semifinals, Revilla averaged 17.5 PPG. Teng, who slowly got his groove back in the second round, scored 14 points, hauled down 10 rebounds, and dished out 5.5 assists in two games.

Holding a 9-game winning streak, the De La Salle Green Archers are two wins away from bringing the UAAP championship trophy back to Taft. – Rappler.com

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