It’s up vs La Salle in finals

MANILA, Philippines — Top-seeds and twice-to-beat University of the Philippines and La Salle forced a titular showdown for the first time in history by making short work of erstwhile champion Ateneo and National U, respectively, in the UAAP Season 86 Final Four yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Maroons dethroned the Eagles, 57-46, in a low-scoring tiff to book their third straight finals appearance while the streaking Archers proved too hot to handle for the Bulldogs, 97-73, to snap a six-year finals drought.

Malick Diouf, Francis Lopez and Janjan Felicilda conspired in a second-half runaway after bleeding for just 22 points in the first two quarters as UP ended Ateneo’s six straight finals appearances under head coach Tab Baldwin.

Diouf, the reigning MVP, harvested 12 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and three blocks while Lopez (12) and Felicilda (10) took turns in draining timely hits down the stretch for the Maroons, who have yet to miss the finals since celebrated high school mentor Goldwin Monteverde took over the program.

UP captured the crown in Season 84 via historic fashion, stopping Ateneo’s three-peat and ending its own 36-year title drought on JD Cagulangan’s buzzer-beater before absorbing a payback from its Katipunan rival in Season 85 – with both games going the full distance.

And in their third straight post-season meeting, UP clipped Ateneo and showed the latter the exit door. The finals will feature an Ateneo-less cast for the first time since Far Eastern U beat Santo Tomas in UAAP Season 78.

“Well, first we want to give glory to God for this game. Coaches always talk about consistency, and I believe, from a defensive standpoint, this is probably the most consistent fourth-quarter game namin. It couldn’t have come at a better time,” said assistant coach Christian Luanzon.

“It was a defensive game, that’s one thing. At the end of the game, you gotta put the ball in the hoop.”

La Salle was quick to follow suit behind the efforts of Mark Nonoy (20), Kevin Quimbao (17), Evan Nelle (15) and Mike Phillips (11) to hand new coach Topex Robinson a finals stint in his debut season.

The Archers, who last made the finals in Season 80 in 2017 under now Converge mentor Aldin Ayo in the PBA, came off a rare Final Four miss last season under seasoned tactician Derrick Pumaren.

La Salle built an early double-digit lead in the first half and stretched it to as many as 24 points en route to its ninth straight win, including a second-round sweep, to steal the twice-to-beat bonus from NU.

UP indeed delivered, on both ends of the floor, when it mattered by limiting the usually potent Eagles to a dismal 26-percent clip and their lowest output this season.

Earlier, five players scored in twin digits led by Kent Pastrana’s 18 points as Santo Tomas held on to an 87-83 win over UP in the knockout semis to advance in the women’s finals.

Brigette Santos (14), Nikki Villasin (12), Tantoy Ferrer (11) and Tacky Tacatac (11) threw in help for the twice-to-beat Growling Tigresses, who earned a shot against the seven-peat champion National U Lady Bulldogs.