Year 2025 belongs to La Salle

Alta Sports3 months ago · 396 views

Photo: UAAP

By Nate Castillo

De La Salle University showed the true meaning of the ‘Animo’ spirit in a University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament that was unpredictable until the very last second.

In a tournament where adversities were thrown left and right at a team seeking redemption after losing the throne a year before, any other squad would have bowed its head and accepted cruel fate.

But not the Green Archers.

“We went through a lot together. What kept us going was playing for each other. When you remember what you’ve been through, you don’t waste the opportunity,” head coach Topex Robinson said.

La Salle came into the season as one of the favorites with the return of Mike Phillips and the addition of Kean Baclaan, Mason Amos and former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion Jacob Cortez.

However, La Salle struggled early, losing three of its first four games.

As if it wasn’t enough, the Green Archers lost Amos and Baclaan to knee injuries in consecutive games in a challenging first round. Add to that the suspensions meted out on Vhoris Marasigan and EJ Gollena, La Salle’s campaign looked gloomy.

The Taft-based still soldiered on and, with unwavering faith, found itself back in the Final Four, albeit in a precarious position against top-seeded twice-to-beat National University.

With the miraculous return of Amos and Baclaan from injuries that initially ruled them out of the season, a full-strength La Salle did the improbable by knocking out the Bulldogs to set up a finals trilogy against University of the Philippines.

For the third straight finals showdown, the championship series went into a decider.

Fueled by the Animo spirit, the Green Archers fought tooth and nail in a nip-and-tuck affair before emerging on top.

“From injuries, suspensions, ejections, and then a new team for me, kind of new players, but then again, we trusted each other no matter what,” said Cortez, who wrote his own La Salle legacy like his father, Mike, did in the early 2000s.

“And I think that’s the really big part of winning.”

La Salle’s championship run is more than just reclaiming what was lost in the previous season; it’s a testament that genuine faith and hard work have their rewards.