The trophy heads back to Taft.
On Wednesday, December 17, the third and final match between the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons for the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball finals happened.
The game, which took place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, was witnessed by a crowd of more than 24,000.
The anticipation was built upon the unpredictable first two play days in the series, with the Green Archers taking the first, only for the defending champions, the Fighting Maroons, to bounce back in their second match on Sunday and extend the series to a do-or-die match.
Game 3 started with a close contest between both teams, with La Salle capping the first quarter with a marginal lead, 19-16.
In the second quarter, UP delivered quite a remarkable run as they were able to not only shed the lead, which went as high as eight points in that quarter, but also rise on top, at least for a few minutes, 41-40.
Third quarter appeared to be a push-and-pull from both sides, with UP only ending it with a one-point-lead, 59-58.
Ultimately, as the final buzz went out, DLSU was on top with an eight-point-lead against the defending champions, 80-72.
With that, the Green Archers became the second fourth-seeded team in the tournament’s history to take home the trophy. The feat was first achieved by the National University (NU) Bulldogs in 2014.
It is also La Salle’s 11th UAAP championship since joining the league in 1986, having first won it in 1989 and its most recent prior to this season being in 2023.
