EVERY good trilogy should deliver in the ending.
And that’s exactly what Mike Phillips and La Salle are looking to do this UAAP Season 88.
Though the University of the Philippines is once again challenging the Green Archers' claim for the championship, the teams playing are just about the only thing similar in this title trilogy.
READ: It's UP-La Salle III - it's always been UP-La Salle III
Phillips has been present for all of them, but he himself has been changed for the better through the years.
In their first meeting in the finals, eventual champion La Salle fronted by Evan Nelle, Mark Nonoy, and of course, Kevin Quiambao and Phillips, both of whom were rookies back then.
A finals rematch was forged following season, but Quiambao, Phillips, and the green-and-white's bid for back-to-back eventually became payback for the Fighting Maroons.
With this grudge match also being Phillips’ last year in college, the 6-foot-8 big couldn’t be any more excited to break their finals deadlock.
“Good man, just excited,” he told SPIN.ph. “All praise to them (UP), too, also for going to the finals. I really just give credit to the whole Lasallian program. You know, they really put so much effort into building us just to get to this point. So it's gonna be a great series.”
Experiencing his growth from energizer to cornerstone has been surreal for Phillips, but he would be the first to admit that he couldn’t have done it without the teammates he had throughout three consecutive finals trips.
From being the second of the Phillips brothers to suit up for Taft Ave. to learning from the likes of Nelle and Quiambao, the Fil-Am banger has carried their lessons with him to now serving as La Salle’s skipper.
“Even though they're not here, the culture they left, you know, we're still trying to keep going. It definitely was hard at first because you have more responsibility, but I feel like God prepared us to help lead each other," he said.
"I'm just the captain, but we really do lead each other.”
Run your race
Among many learnings Phillips and crew gained from this run of consistent contention under shot-caller Topex Robinson, composure emerged as one of the most - if not the most - important heading into this title trilogy.
“We really just try to focus as much as we can on ourselves, you know. Of course, we're going to prepare as much for UP, but we don't want to put too much attention on that,” he said.
They have a score to settle against their modern-day rivals, yes.
But for Phillips and the Green Archers, the Fighting Maroons are just the final obstacle in their way back to the mountaintop. Nothing more, nothing less.
As he put it, “It's nothing like revenge or anything like that. We really just focus on us and enjoying each moment, try to get this championship for La Salle.”
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