MUCH maligned the last time out, University of the Philippines forward Francis Lopez aimed at the basket nonchalantly with the shot clock ticking like the heartbeats of the fans that wore maroon and green at the jampacked venue.
Raring to redeem himself from four missed free throws in Game 2, Lopez banged in the clutch triple while one-and-done big man Quentin Millora-Brown canned two pressure-packed freebies that struck the biggest dagger on erstwhile defending champion La Salle last night.
Showing they wanted it more, the Fighting Maroons fashioned a breathtaking 66-62 decision over the Green Archers in the deciding Game 3 of their best-of-3 finals duel and regained the crown in the 87th UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Lopez’s trey gave UP a 64-60 lead with 1:13 left before an EJ Gollena basket pulled La Salle to within 62-64.
Millora-Brown calmly knocked down two foul shots that pegged the final count. The door was left open for the Archers after Maroon Terrence Fortea fouled EJ Gollena.
Needing to make two from the 15-foot line, Gollena muffed both his attempts as the Maroons fell on the hard court after the final buzzer sounded, overcome with emotions—they finally avenged the heartaches of two defeats in the Big Dance in 2022 to Ateneo and last year to the same Taft-based foe.
In front of 25,248 spectators, the 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown wound up with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for UP while Lopez chimed in 12 markers, 11 boards and six assists.
JD Cagulangan, the hero of the Maroons’ riveting title triumph two years ago, sang his swan song with 12 and two and was named finals MVP.
“Sa akin, very thankful ako especially sa mga bata na you know, from the start ng season after namin matalo last year, araw-araw, trinabaho nila, how they worked hard for it,” UP coach Goldwin Monteverde said. “Even during the course of the season, iyong ups and downs namin, I’m very proud of each and every one sa team namin.
‘Thankful din ako sa coaching staff na wala ring tigil. Kapag wala sila, hindi ko rin magagawa iyong dapat kong gawin,” he added.
The Maroons took the opening tiff of the race-to-3 series 75-63 last Dec. 8 but La Salle bounce back with a dramatic 76-75 escape in the second match last Wednesday.
UP held a 42-36 lead at the halfway mark that they stretched to as much as 54-40 in the third canto.
The Maroons went into the final stanza with a 56-50 cushion.
Mike Phillips paced the Archers with 18 points and 12 caroms while newly-minted two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao ended his collegiate career on a sad note with 13 markers and four rebounds.
For sure, two straight bridesmaid finishes were enough for the Maroons. These cage wars belonged to them.
