AFTER 61 showstopping matches in UAAP Season 86 men's basketball, it all comes down to one final battle between University of the Philippines and De La Salle.
Now on their third successive Finals appearance, the Fighting Maroons wreaked havoc in a 30-point Game One blowout of the Green Archers in Game One — the league's most lopsided championship series opener to date.
Battered, bruised, and backed against the wall, the Green Archers gave a masterful response come Game Two with an emphatic 22-point win of their own to force an all-or-nothing title decider.
READ: UAAP Finals offers a lot of firsts for UP, La Salle, Topex and Lopez
As the Green Archers and the Maroons prepare for a showdown for the ages, one question begs to be asked — who wants it more?
Will La Salle climb back on 'Taft?'
Twenty-five years since its historic four-peat, seven years since its last title, and a little under a year since Topex Robinson took over the reins for La Salle, one more win could mark the dawn of a new championship era for the storied Taft side.
Ahead of the Finals opener, the Archers rode a league-best nine-game unbeaten run before getting shell-shocked by the UP Maroons in the series opener.
Robinson admitted his wards were caught off-guard by the tempo and physicality set by the Maroons in a crushing Game One defeat.
"We didn’t get the memo that this is gonna be (the level of play) as far as the physicality of the game is. So we have to be ready that it’s gonna be the same (in Game Two), and as much as we wanna complain about some things, we just wanna really focus on ourselves," Robinson said.
READ: Inside a players-only meeting that may just save La Salle's season
But with a players-only meeting led by '16 pissed off Green Archers,' an audacious gambit to relegate league MVP Kevin Quiambao to an off-the-bench role, and the hot hands of breakout stars Francis Escandor, Joshua David, and CJ Austria, La Salle scored a survival win in Game Two and sent a strong statement of intent.
"Having 16 pissed-off players during practice really, really excites me. They really were so pissed off that we got really clobbered in Game One and then they really responded.
"Come Game 3, obviously there's going to be a lot of work. We know UP will come out with guns blazing. Ang sa 'min lang, again, is we always focus on us. We don't know what UP will do, but we know what we will do," Robinson said.
And as La Salle sets foot on uncharted waters which UP will traverse for the third straight season, Mythical Five member Evan Nelle has some strong choice of words on what one can expect from the title-seeking Green Archers.
"We're gonna win this. I love our team. I wanna do it all for them and everybody who's supporting us. I won't lose. We won't lose. That's not in our vocabulary," Nelle said.
Will 'up' be the way to go for Maroons?
Game One gave us a stern reminder of how despite fielding a rookie-laden unit this season, the Fighting Maroons are no strangers to the championship stage.
What ultimately proved to be a vital catalyst of UP's 30-point shutout was an effective clampdown of La Salle's finest asset in Quiambao.
And the familiarity of some UP aces with their former high school cohort, who was held to just 11 points on 40 percent shooting, made the job possible in the seniors' title series.
READ: UP failed to match La Salle's energy in Game 2, rues Goldwin
"Team effort yung defense namin kay Kevin. Alam nating lahat na MVP yun so yung focus nasa kanya. 'Yung goal namin sa kanya, pahirapan siya, make him uncomfortable 'pag kami nasa harap niya," said Harold Alarcon.
"Sa practices nung high school pa kami, big man ako, 4 man ako, so si Kevin yung kabantayan ko. Dahil dun, may script na rin ako paano siya bantayan — kung ano weaknesses niya, ano strengths niya," Reyland Torres added.
But in Game Two, as the Green Archers asserted their might beyond being a Quiambao-led squad, UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde conceded the Maroons were unable to keep up with La Salle's high-octane pace and energy.
"In games like this, I thought that they (La Salle) had more energy. Such games teach us what kind of effort we need to put forth to get the championship. Part of La Salle's success came from rebounds. They were getting most of the 50-50s. It's significant, and we'll definitely learn from that," Monteverde said.
"Kung ano ang nangyari today, we’re not gonna make any reasons kung ano ang turnout ng Game (2). But rather we’re gonna look inside us kung anong dapat naming ginawa. Ang importante rito may Game 3 pa so nandoon pa 'yung tsansa namin," he stressed.
Game Three — the two greatest words in Philippine collegiate basketball — tips off on Wednesday, 6 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as the UAAP crowns its new kings of men's basketball.
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