IT boils down to which team wants the title more. Hard-hat cage observers like this Hoopster keenly await the winner-take-all Game Three of the best-of-three finals of the 2013 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament between the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers and De La Salle University Green Archers to be played on Saturday, October 12, at the state-of-the-art Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Expect the MOA Arena to be rocking in the sea of yellow and green as a mammoth, record-setting crowd will be around to witness a blockbuster finish to Season 76.
The UAAP Cheerdance Competitions last month drew 20,830 fans at the MOA Arena for the largest attendance ever in its two-year existence.
Should the MOA Arena management decide to sell SRO (standing room only) tickets for aisle viewing from the arena’s roof-level sections (Upper B and General Admission), this year’s UAAP cage tournament will likely surpass the record-breaking crowd of 23,037 that trooped to the world-famous Araneta Coliseum to watch the finals’ Game Two last Saturday during which La Salle evened the series at 1-1 with a hard-earned 77-70 decision over UST.
An unproductive triple by the Green Archers gunner Almond Vosotros and a block by Tigers big man Karim Abdul of LA Revilla’s floater in the dying seconds of the series opener preserved UST’s spine-tingling 73-72 victory over La Salle last October 2.
Buoyed by its team’s Game One triumph, UST fans came in full force for Game Two. Nearly 70 percent of the MOA audience wore yellow tees in support of UST, which was seeking a 2-0 finals sweep and its first UAAP crown since 2006.
The Growling Tigers faithful, though, went home disappointed. The Green Archers, who trailed for the last time at 12-10 on fifth-year UST skipper Jeric Teng’s triple midway through the first quarter, knocked in 13 unanswered points bridging the first and second quarters to move ahead, 23-12.
La Salle never trailed thereafter, enjoying its biggest lead of 17 points, 36-19, midway through the second quarter. (Note: In UST’s Game One win, its largest lead was also 17 points, 21-4, in the first quarter.)
With 73 seconds remaining in the third quarter, UST came within six points, 57-51. But all hell broke loose when foul-troubled Kevin Ferrer was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul for kicking the rock after play was stopped to signal a jumpball.
La Salle’s baby bear Norbert Torres, who finished with 16 points and 10 boards, connected on a pair of free throws and then completed a three-point play in DLSU’s next offense as the Taft Avenue-based unit moved out of harm’s way at 62-51 following the five-point swing.
DLSU, which employed just seven players, led by at least seven points in the fourth quarter. UST trailed no less than seven points the rest of the way. Down by 14 (77-63), UST made the final count respectable by scoring the game’s final seven points.
DLSU sophomore Jeron Teng was full of energy and intensity in Game Two that the 6-foot-2 swingman and 2012 UAAP Rookie of the Year awardee chalked up a team-best 19 points, seven of them in the tone-setting first period, and contributed nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in 35 minutes.
It was a nice follow-up to his 15-point, seven-rebound effort in the series opener. Defensively, Jeron also helped make life hard for lanky Kevin Ferrer, UST’s Game 1 hero with five triples and 20 markers who was limited to six points on 1-for-6 field shooting.
A sore spot for Jeron was his 3-for-9 free-throw shooting. Jeric, Jeron’s elder brother, chalked up a game-best 28 markers for UST for a 22.5 clip in the series. The Tigers’ lone Mythical Five selection Karim Abdul registered a double-double in Game One with 19 points and 12 boards but only had a pedestrian line of 13 and nine in Game Two.
Here are some significant factors that could decide the sudden-death Game Three winner:
REBOUNDING – No rebounds, no rings. La Salle has outrebounded UST in both games – 44-43 in Game One and 57-39 in Game Two, including a 27-10 edge off the offensive glass that allowed the Green Archers to pick up 18 second-chance points (against UST’s six).
OFFENSE – Undoubtedly Jeric Teng is UST’s meal ticket. Unfortunately, Aljon Mariano (5.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) has had a hard time shadowing newcomer Mythical Five choice Jason Perkins (9.0 ppg) so much so the wear and tear has affected his scoring significantly. He and three-point bomber Clark Bautista (4.5 ppg) need to step up offensively if the Growling Tigers are to give graduating Jeric Teng a nice farewell gift.
DEFENSE – La Salle’s hefty and beefy Big Three of Arnold Van Opstal (13.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg), Norbert Torres (9.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg)) and first-year Mythical Five choice Jason Perkins (9.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg) will play as physical as the referees will allow them.
UST has its own big men in Abdul, Mariano, Paulo Pe and Kent Lao but they have been unable to match the opposing side’s toughness.
HEART OF A CHAMPION – “Puso,” UST bench maestro says his Growling Tigers have. But is their heart bigger than those of the La Salle players? Both teams are as hungry as ever.
UST has not won since 2006 and La Salle has not reigned supreme since 2007. No “pusong mamon” here. Crybabies can go home early. The time to cry is when a title has been won.
TURNOVERS – Minimize the turnovers, especially the unforced ones. Turnovers are a recipe for disaster.
FREE THROW SHOOTING – Make the free throws. In a close game that Game Three will likely turn out to be, the misses may haunt a team at the end. La Salle has often struggled from the line this season.
ROTATION – UST coach Pido Jarencio shares the wealth and often stretches his rotation to as many as 11 men. DLSU bench honcho Juno Sauler, on the other hand, would rather go no more than eight or nine.
In Game Two, his only substitutes were Norbert Torres and Thomas Torres. Matthew Salem, who is recovering from a bout with mumps, has yet to see action in the series.
HEIGHT – UST owns a respectable frontline corps but ring leader Abdul can’t get the job done inside by his lonesome. He needs Mariano and Pe to toughen up against DLSU’s Big Three with their own brand of physicality. Van Opstal, Norbert Torres and Perkins, to an extent, mimic the Los Angeles Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom during their NBA championship years in 2009 and 2010.
Height is might and so look for La Salle to continue to push the ball inside with low-post plays from Norbert Torres, Van Opstal and Perkins or kick it out to Jeron for his slashing acts and Vosotros (15.5 ppg), LA Revilla (6.5 ppg) and even Perkins for their long-range bombs. Early foul trouble by the big men of either side can quickly change the complexion of the game.
HUSTLE POINTS – It’s the last game of the season. Give it all for there’s no tomorrow for the loser. It does not show up in the stats line, but getting a majority of the loose or so-called 50-50 balls can energize a team in a jiffy.