By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers pulled off a miracle comeback to shock the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 21-20, during the grand finals of the UAAP Season 84 3×3 men’s basketball.
Down by as much as nine points, the Growling Tigers pulled themselves together and were trigger-ready from the three-point area to inch close against the Green Archers.
UST’s run all started after Gilas Pilipinas young cadet Sherwin Concepcion began knocking down threes that went contagious as Nic Cabañero also joined the three-point party to trim the DLSU lead to just a point, 17-18.
However, DLSU’s Ben Phillips countered with his own long-range bomb that extended their lead to three, 17-20.
Things became exciting in the last two minutes of the dog fight after Cabañero buried another shot from downtown to inch them close again, 19-20.
As UST earned another possession, Concepcion made sure to seal the deal and put the exclamation point after sinking the game-winning deuce that delivered them the title.
“Nung unang three to four minutes, nag-relax kami. Sinabihan ko yung teammates ko na lumaban tayo, para ito sa UST community,” said Concepcion.
Concepcion’s heroics was capped off with a UAAP Season 84 3×3 Finals MVP award who scored 12 of UST’s 21 points.
It was a good run for the towering Green Archers squad but went cold from the field after Concepcion and Cabañero’s explosion who just went unconscious from the three-point line during the clutch stretch of their comeback.
