UAAP: Archers grab caging title after crushing Warriors

The La Salle Green Archers had to go through what must have been the longest final 40 seconds in any game, but they finally bagged the UAAP men's basketball title Sunday evening at the Araneta Coliseum. The Archers crushed the the University of the East Red Warriors, 73-64, before a crowd of at least 18,000 packed inside the Big Dome. The Archers ended all previous quarters in the lead, scoring 15-11 at the first, 34-23 at halftime, and 52-45 at the third. The Archers won Game 1 with a one-point upset, 64-63, last Thursday (October 4). Before that upset, the Warriors had been undefeated, having made a rare 14-0 of the double-round eliminations that got them straight into the finals. Guards Jvee Casio and Pocholo Villanueva got named as Most Valuable Players (MVPs) in the best-of-three finals for lifting the Archers, especially during crucial moments of the championship series. Villanueva, in his last year as an Archer, was also named Best Player for Game 2, during which he made 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists in an overall performance that helped his team pull off the improbable title-clinching victory over the heavily-favored Warriors of head coach Dindo Pumaren. Casio scored 16 points, eight of them in the fourth quarter. 7th title for the Archers The victory gave the Archers' seventh UAAP men's basketball crown since entering the league in 1986. For head coach Franz Pumaren, the title is his fifth since being appointed as bench tactician of the Taft-based school in 1998. More than crowning themselves as basketball kings once again, the Green Archers somewhat erased the stigma of last year's suspension handed out to them by the UAAP board in 2006, due to the player ineligibility scandal that rocked the school in 2005. The Archers would have had eight basketball crowns, but they were forced to return the men's title they won against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws in 2005 as a result of the scandal. More championship experience "It's difficult to face UE and my younger brother (Dindo) in the men's finals," Franz Pumaren said. "If only I could give the other half of the trophy to them I will do that because they also deserved it. But what made the difference, I think, on why we won the championship is because of our championship experience." For Dindo Pumaren, it was another disappointing basketball season for the Warriors, especially after being tagged by basketball pundits as the team to beat to win. After all, they stampeded their way into the finals with 14-0 sweep of the double-round eliminations. In one game, against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, they even won by 40 points. But the Warriors, who last tasted a championship in 1985 behind PBA Greatest Players Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera, had a rude awakening in this year's finals, because none of their players in the current lineup had any championship experience. In contrast, the Archers have Casio, Villanueva, TY Tang, and Rico Maeirhofer – who were all part of the 2005 team that played the UAAP finals against the Tamaraws. "You will notice in the first game of the championship series, they were tight just like today," Franz Pumaren said. "That's why we took advantage of this (the experience factor) and came out really prepared." The Pumaren brothers are prominent members of a closely-knit basketball family, that also includes father Filomeno, the former multi-titled UE mentor, and brother Derrick, the two-time La Salle champion coach who is now consultant of UE. Brother Bernard Oca, FSC, La Salle's representative in the UAAP board, praised the team for the coming out victorious against a very tough opponent. "We believe there are divine hands there, and we just followed the script to hurdle all odds," Oca said. "We wanted to show that even when we were out for one year, we could come back and return to the top. We were able to prove that this year." Chasing the Archers The Warriors threatened to take the lead at the start of the final quarter after being down for much of the game, by as much as 14 points in the first half. They actually cut down the Archers' lead to just a point, 52-51, with back-to-back three-pointers. But the 1-2-3 guard combination of Casio, Villanueva, and TY Tang answered the Warriors with 7 points to lift again the Archers' lead to 6 points at 59-53, with 6 minutes left in the game. Then Warriors Mark Borboran and rookie-guard Paul Lee conspired for a 6-2 run of their own to bring the count at 61-59, only to be answered by Casio, who sank one of his two charities after being fouled, to give his team some breathing room at 62-59, with 2:18 left in the ball game. The next play saw Warrior Kelvin Gregorio missing on his three-point attempt. Teammate Lee got the ball for a follow-up attempt which he also missed. This time Tang got the rebound for the Archers and was fouled by Lee – his fifth and last foul. Tang was sent to the line as the Warriors were already in penalty. Tang, also in his last year for the Archers, calmly sank both of his two freebies to give his team a 5-point lead, 64-59, with 1:28 left in the game. Borboran, also playing in his last year with UE, was fouled while driving for a layup. He went to the stripe but failed to connect on his two freebies, with the offensive board going the Archers' way, with a minute left to go. Casio gave his team a commanding 7-point lead after drilling a turn-around 20-foot jumper to put the score at 66-59, with 57 seconds left. But Marcie Arellano responded with his own jumper to cut the Archers' lead to five at 66-61, with 45.4 seconds left, forcing coach Franz Pumaren to sue for time. Last 40 seconds With the clock not on their side, the Warriors were forced to foul Casio with 40.7 seconds left to stop the time. The former San Beda Red Cubs player showed nerves of steal as he calmly sank his free throws to again give the Archers a 7-point advantage at 68-61. After a timeout by Dindo Pumaren, Arellano missed a layup but the Warriors retained ball possession during a scramble for the loose ball. After another loose ball, Borboran was fouled and was sent to the line. He sank the first freebie but missed his second with the loose ball going to OJ Cua, who was fouled by Arellano and also sent to the line, with less than 30 seconds left. Cua, also showing nerves of steel despite playing limited minutes, gave his team a nine point advantage at 70-61 after making two-two from the line, thus sealing the outcome of the game. Game stats highlights Game 2 of the finals only saw four lead changes and just one deadlock, 8-all, in the early minutes of the first quarter. The 22 first-half points by the Red Warriors is the second lowest output ever recorded for this UAAP season. The Archers shot 30 percent from the field in the first half, or 10 of 31, while the Warriors made a miserable 27 percent, or 10 or 31. The Archers also had an edge in rebounding department with 26 compared to the Warriors 24. The Archers also dominated the free throws, getting 66 percent, or 12 of 18, compared to the Warriors' 25 percent, or 2 of 8. A total of 18,067 paying patrons were on hand to watch Game 2 of the UAAP finals, which was broadcast not only here in the Philippines but also around the world. Quarters (DLSU-UE): 15-11, 34-23, 52-45, 73-64

- GMANews.TV