The UP Fighting Maroons have avenged themselves.
After falling short of first place last season to the De La Salle University Green Archers, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons took home the Season 87 men’s basketball championship in Game 3, 66-62, on 15 December 2024.
In front of a Philippine collegiate record crowd of 25,248 UAAP fans in the Smart Araneta Coliseum, UP bounced back from a close Game 2 loss last Wednesday, 76-75. It was another tight contest until Quentin “QMB” Millora-Brown, who put up 12 points and 10 rebounds, sealed the victory for Diliman, scoring his two free throws under the pressure of the final seconds of the season.
Francis Lopez, after being criticized for his mistimed pass and 4 missed free throws in the last minute of Game 2, silenced the doubters after sinking a clutch 3-pointer with a little over a minute left to give UP a two-possession lead over La Salle, 64-60, capping his double-double performance of 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists.
From sinking the buzzer-beating three-pointer to clinch the Season 84 championship, JD Cagulangan finished his UAAP career with the Finals MVP trophy, averaging 13.66 points, 4.66 assists, and 4.33 rebounds per game in the series.
The Season MVP Kevin “KQ” Quiambao was a heated target in UP’s defense, ending his time as a Green Archer with 13 points and 4 rebounds—paling in comparison to his Game 2 performance of 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists—before announcing his move to the Korean Basketball League.
The Green Archers still had hope in their forward Mike Phillips, who was a presence in the paint throughout the game, but it was not enough despite scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Seeing how competitive these budding rivals have become, Game 3 picked up where Game 2 left off.
With less than 5 minutes in the first quarter, DLSU was leading 16-10 until UP went on an 11-point scoring run only for DLSU to follow it up with two 3-pointers to tie the game at 21.
Despite scoring zero from the 3-point line in the first half, the Fighting Maroons made up for it in the second quarter by quickly converting their steals and defensive rebounds and 2-pointers in the fast break.
Just when it looked like UP was going to end the third quarter at 56 points with a double-digit lead, DLSU went on a hot streak, kicked off by a 3-pointer by Joshua David
No one was giving an inch in the 4th quarter.
After Cagulangan shot from 3 with less than 7 minutes left to make it 61-58 for UP, both teams could not put anything on the board until DLSU’s Lian Ramiro, who was not much of a factor in the Green Archers’ offense in the first half, made a contested jumper to close the gap to one point.
Not wanting a repeat of their defeat in Game 2, Lopez made his shot from beyond the arc in the immediate possession. Despite DLSU’s EJ Gollena stealing the ball from UP’s Harold Alarcon and scoring 2 points in the fast break.
After fouling Millora-Brown, there was not much DLSU could do. Perfect from the line that game, with 11 seconds left on the clock, he made both his free throws to lock in UP’s 4-point lead and the championship.
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