CHICAGO - After cruising in the eliminations with a 12-2 record and swatting Adamson like a fly in their UAAP Final Four windshield, La Salle's race to a back-to-back championships stalled last Sunday.
Engine trouble was not the issue, the culprit was a 6-foot-10, 245-pound all-purpose truck with a distinct vanity license plate.
QMB.
On a night when UP's top gunners JD Cagulangan, Gerry Abadiano and Harold Alaracon combined to shoot just 9-of-30 from the field for 24 points, the Fighting Maroons leaned on their center Quentin Millora-Brown as the battering ram on the way to a 73-65 in Game One win in the Season 87 men;s basketball Finals.
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When the smoke cleared at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, QMB inflicted the sort of mayhem that can turn rivals' dreams into nightmares - 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Two days later, Millora-Brown was doing damage elsewhere, crushing pancakes, chicken, hash browns, bacon and eggs at the Shangri-la breakfast buffet where I got a hold of him around 9:30 a.m. today.
MORE WORK MORE OUTPUT.
After averaging a modest 8.6 points per during the eliminations, QMB more than doubled that in Game One, so I asked him if the bump in production was a function of how La Salle was defending him or that he was just trying to score more.
"It was a mix of how they guarded me and looking to score more. After the first half I had a good feel of their game plan and I just went in there and did what it took to win by scoring, rebounding and setting screens," QMB told me over the telephone.
After a scorching first half where he drilled 18 points, presumptive Season 87 MVP Kevin Quiambao was held to one point on 0-for-6 shooting the rest of the way. He finished with 19 and 11 rebounds with six turnovers.
"It was in our game plan to try and wear him out with our defense. Obviously, it worked in Game One but we always need to be ready and adjust on the fly," QMB added.
DON'T SLEEP ON THOSE ARCHERS.
La Salle is too good, too well coached not to self-correct in Game Two where QMB is expecting "a lot of energy and aggression."
But the Green Archers must figure out the QMB conundrum.
Henry Agunanne can match up with QMB but Agunane is a harmless participant on offense. Coach Topex Robinson can put Michael Phillips on QMB but it will risk "Motor Mike" losing battery power on scoring and rebounding?
The Green Archers can turn up the pace and reduce Millora-Brown's minutes, but UP relishes the up-tempo game like pigs love rolling in the mud.
Another option is for La Salle to apply the zone more often and hope UP shoots just 39.4 percent from the field overall (26-of-66) and hit only 4-of-21 from 3 like it did in Game One.
But what if the Fighting Maroons get hot?
Clogging the lanes and forcing QMB to give up the ball and then close out hard on the shooters seems like a viable strategy. But to paraphrase Mike Tyson, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.
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UP has an uncomfortable history of blowing 1-0 leads in the past two UAAP Finals. But this current Fighting Maroons roster will not fold like an accordion. They have a mature line-up of guards that have been toughened by time and disappointment.
And then there's also QMB, apparently an acronym for jack of all trades.
Tomorrow's Game Two can either fulfill a couple broken promises or relive a basketball tragedy for the Fighting Maroons.
What will it be?
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