Green Archers stun the Bulldogs to force a sudden-death Game 2

DE LA SALLE University (DLSU) lived on to fight another day, stunning the top-ranked National University (NU) with an 87-77 win to force a sudden-death Game 2 in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball Final Four on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

- John Bryan Ulanday

The DLSU Green Archers, ranked fourth in the semifinals, were swept by the NU Bulldogs in the eliminations but reminded them why they’re the back-to-back finalists for a reason with grit and grind when it mattered most to neutralize the latter’s twice-to-beat advantage.

La Salle, buoyed by the full-swing return of Kean Baclaan and Mason Amos from MCL injuries, and NU clash once more on Saturday for a seat in the finals against either titleholder and No. 2 seed University of the Philippines (UP) or third-ranked University of Santo Tomas. UP holds a win-once bonus like NU.

The Green Archers, who surrendered their throne to the UP Fighting Maroons last season, are now 3-0 against the Bulldogs in Final Four games, winning both in 2001 and 2023 as the higher seeds.

“We just prolonged the series. These guys just decided to have more practices (and games) with each other. We're up against the No. 1 team so we knew we're gonna have to battle it out. We're just extremely grateful and blessed to have one more game,” said coach Topex Robinson, who has not missed the finals since inheriting the storied La Salle program.