La Salle wins the battle of inches

In the end, the team that managed to hold the other to less than 70 points emerged the champion of this year’s UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

But it was not an overwhelming stoppage as the score after 45 minutes of grueling action was 71-69 in favor of the La Salle Green Archers.

It was the slimmest of margins in a war that sapped the physical and mental reservoirs of both sides; in the end, it was a victory of poise over nerves and of claiming opportunities while the other side wasted theirs.

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There were three instances in the final showdown where La Salle turned around the match by simply staying with the University of Santo Tomas Tigers.

First, at the top of the third quarter, UST turned an eight-point halftime lead into a 15-point spread.

By rebounding harder and forcing the Archers to commit 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, UST seized the momentum. The Tigers decided that they would not be overpowered off the boards as they were outrebounded in Game 2, 39-57, with La Salle scoring 42 points in the paint.

But La Salle settled down and allowed Almond Vosotros to fire from afar. The Tigers amply prepared for the Archers’ inside game, and there was a need for La Salle’s perimeter shooters to get going. In time, a 9-0 run brought the Archers within a point at the quarter’s end.

Second, Jeron Teng, the Finals MVP, took charge of La Salle’s resilience in the fourth. Even if UST had the upper hand at 61-56, with four minutes left, the younger Teng bucked cramps and several bad passes and scored when it was needed.

Teng’s basket that made it 65-63, with a little over a minute left, even looked like the winning basket until Aljon Mariano nailed two free throws to tie it all up.

Lastly, La Salle delivered at the right time in overtime to win the title, outscoring UST, six points to four.

It was Vosotros who canned the pressure baskets when everyone else was wilting under fatigue and pressure. This meltdown was perhaps personified by Mariano’s wild pass to Kevin Ferrer in the backcourt after claiming possession. This proved to be fatal to UST’s cause in the end.

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La Salle richly deserved this title as it won by losing only once after the first round of the classification phase.

The familiar sports phrase—one game at a time—seemed to work perfectly for the Archers who saw their inside strength get better in each game while their perimeter shooting, which was always an asset, got sharper and more dependable.

For the Tigers, there is no need to hang their heads as they represented their great institution well in this year’s tournament. From a so-so season, they reenergized their game in the homestretch of the second round and booted out the top-seeded National University that had a twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four.

Throughout the game, it was a match where the slimmest of margins were luxuries and opportunities were gained by claiming fractions or inches of space.

La Salle capitalized on every small gain while UST wasted too many chances.