By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers’ bid for a back-to-back UAAP championship title is still alive after dominating the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 70-55, during their Season 87 Final Four matchup on November 30, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, the Green Archers just arranged a UAAP championship series rematch with their arch-rivals, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, who took down the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers in the first game of the scheduled Final Four playoff battle.
De La Salle continued its winning ways on Adamson after sweeping them during the preliminary phase and put an end to their playoff hopes when they protected their twice-to-beat advantage.
However, Adamson made sure they’d put up a fight after keeping themselves within striking distance in the first 14 minutes of the ball game. They were led by the consistent offensive plays from Royce Mantua and Cedrick Manzano who operated early in the shaded lane.
With Mantua and Manzano hitting from all cylinders, the Soaring Falcons trimmed their deficit to just four points, 20-16, and were looking comfortable in covering DLSU’s motion offense.
Just when Adamson thought they could sustain their defensive intensity, the Green Archers countered back and completed a momentum-changing 16-1 scoring run in the final five minutes of the second quarter.
From a four-point cushion, DLSU suddenly ballooned its advantage to 19 points, 36-17, spearheaded by the quarter of Matthew Rubico, Joshua David, Doy Dungo, and Kevin Quiambao.
Rubico kicked off DLSU’s insane scoring avalanche with a three-pointer, paying off the trust of the coaching staff after barely cracking the rotation during their past five games.
Davis and Dungo then sank timely baskets to widen the gap, capped off by a late barrage from Quiambao who bullied his way underneath for back-to-back layups.
After that demoralizing second quarter, the Soaring Falcons went out of synch in the second half and failed to cut their disadvantage to single digits.
Their last rally came in the last three minutes of the fourth when they trimmed their deficit to 13, but Quiambao made sure no late dramas would escalate as he put on the finishing touches for the Green Archers.
Quiambao proved why he is the reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) after top-scoring DLSU with 14 points alongside three rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and two assists.
Mike Philipps, DLSU’s veteran big man, backstopped Quiambao with an all-around performance of eight markers, eight boards, five steals, four dimes, and two rejections.
Game 1 of the UAAP grand finals between DLSU and UP will begin on December 8, 2024, and will take place in the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
