IN NUMBERS: Supremacy on the line as UP, La Salle forge UAAP finals trilogy

MANILA, Philippines – They are inevitable.

Amid a highly competitive UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, it was safe to assume that new faces and new contenders would emerge.

Yet after more than two months of heated competition, the UP Fighting Maroons and La Salle Green Archers find themselves once again on opposite sides of the UAAP finals for the third straight season, forging an intriguing trilogy chock-full of history and sporting animosity.

Though some sections of fans may already get understandably weary of this year’s finals protagonists, here are the numbers that tell why any UP-La Salle match and series remain must-watch TV.

Apart from UST’s top-ranked offense, La Salle and UP complete the league’s top three offenses, with the Archers clocking in at No. 2 with 78.94 points per game, while the Maroons are No. 3 at 76.27.

The two squads, however, offer a distinct clash of styles, as UP favors playing at a breakneck, league-leading pace of 12.53 fastbreak points per game, well above NU’s 10.88, while La Salle sits second to last at just 6.31, only about two points higher than uber-methodical Adamson at 4.34.

Both teams also like to bang down low, as the Mike Phillips-led Archers rank second at 13.56 second-chance points per game, just slightly leading the 12.67 mark of UP, which boasts the likes of Francis Nnoruka and Gani Stevens in the post.

Stars aplenty

While both teams have their top, flashy stars like La Salle’s Jacob Cortez and UP’s Harold Alarcon, both teams also boast a balanced offensive attack, with the Archers having 8 players average at least 6 points per game, while the Maroons have 5 players norming at least 8 points a night.

Cortez currently leads La Salle with all-around stats of 15.1 points, 3.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals, with Phillips also stuffing stat sheets to the tune of 12.4 points, a league-high 14.8 boards, 3.0 dimes and 1.5 swipes.

Nnoruka, meanwhile, is a per-minute beast for UP, putting up 13.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks in just a shade under 25 minutes per game.

Alarcon is right behind him with modest norms of 11.9 points, 3.9 boards, 2.7 dimes and 1.3 steals, but with the potential of going nuclear in the clutch and popping off for around 25 to 30 points should the opportunities arise.

Beyond them, the likes of Rey Remogat, Kean Baclaan, Earl Abadam, and Gerry Abadiano are likewise very much capable of seizing the spotlight and carrying the load, making for a very unpredictable finals that may again come down to the wire.

Blossoming rivalry

Of all the numbers mentioned, one matters most for both UP and La Salle: One.

One La Salle championship in 2023, one UP title the year after. Tied at one apiece, both teams jostle for not only the proverbial bragging rights over the other by winning the trilogy, but more importantly, for the chance to their growing war chest of UAAP men’s basketball championships.

For the Maroons, a title win would not only be championship No. 5 all-time and No. 3 in the last five seasons, but also mark the first-ever successful title defense in program history.

The Archers, meanwhile, are aspiring for title No. 11 all-time, set to put them just one championship behind their legendary rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

So yes, UP-La Salle Part 3, starting this Wednesday, December 10, may play out like an old tune, but more of the nostalgic earworm kind, rather than a fleeting, trendy tune.

One more replay can’t hurt. – Rappler.com