Jacob Cortez vs. Noy Remogat in UAAP Season 88. Photo from UAAP Media.MANILA — De La Salle University aims to cap a challenging Season 88 by reclaiming the UAAP collegiate men’s basketball crown against a University of the Philippines squad looking to force a decisive Game 3 today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Green Archers are gunning for their 11th title, hoping to regain the throne they lost to the Fighting Maroons last year and become only the second No. 4 seed in the Final Four era to win the championship.
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
“At this point, we are not really, sabi nga ni Jacob, we don’t want to put so much pressure on closing out games. That’s not who we are and that’s not what we represent. We’ll continue to inspire a lot of people with the way we play. And at this point, sabi nga namin, we’re not just only playing for our La Salle family and our La Salle fans, but we’re also paving the way for future La Salle athletes to always remember this game that we played,” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.
De La Salle is just a win away from the championship despite facing suspensions and injuries. As the lowest-seeded team to reach the Final Four, the Green Archers had to defeat the top-ranked Bulldogs twice to advance to the UAAP’s biggest stage.
Jacob Cortez has been sensational for La Salle, carrying on his father Mike’s legacy—Mike was part of La Salle’s four-peat team in 2001. Cortez made crucial plays when it mattered most and received strong support from his teammates. He drilled Game 1’s decisive basket, a step-back triple off Reyland Torres with 27.4 seconds left, giving the Green Archers a 74-70 lead—the final score.
“I saw one picture of Jacob when he was young, and I forgot the name of the dad together with him, and that’s really what we want to do. We want to make sure that we leave this team better than when we found it. It just so happens that winning a championship will kind of solidify that,” Robinson added.
Harold Alarcon poured in 34 points—the most by any player in a Finals match since Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena scored 38 in a 99-81 title-clinching win over UP on Dec. 5, 2018. Scoring almost half of the Fighting Maroons’ output in Game 1, Alarcon’s effort highlighted the need for contributions from the entire team if UP hopes to extend the series to a Game 3 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Yung 34 points ni Harold, I think, of course, kailangan ng team ‘yon. But then, hindi naman pupuwede si Harold lang. To be able to win itong Finals na ito, it should take a team to be able to overcome whatever we’re facing in terms of offense,” said UP head coach Goldwin Monterverde.
“We just have to play better than this, for one. Pangalawa, just try to find out yung mga lapses na meron kami. This is not the first time na natalo kami ‘eh, just reminding ourselves na we started this season at 0-2 nga. I believe yung team namin knows how to bounce back from mga ganitong situation. We just lost a battle, the war is not over yet. We still have two games left, we’re still positive about it,” he added.