Archers tame Eagles in epic showdown

There were tears of joy and tears of sadness and grief.

There were tears for making the historic feat and tears for an exiting coach. And tears shed unabashedly by close to 25,000 fans at the Big Dome after La Salle’s Green Archers fashioned a 93-88 victory over archrival Ateneo Blue Eagles for the UAAP crown, the victor’s record fourth.

It was the end of another chapter in the fabled rivarly of the two schools and this one could be remembered for holding the entire nation enthralled for at least two hours yesterday.

It was one contest that could probably match the 1958 cliffhanger win of the Eagles as fortunes ebbed and flowed amid the din and noise in the coliseum until the Archers showed the true heart of a champion against a courageous bunch of young Ateneans who fought to the very last.

The Archers seized the initiative early in Game Three, fell back by 11 points at the turn, 39-50, made a swift comeback right off the third period and then held fast in the see-sawing, pressure-packed endgame where slim leads were obliterated with virtual blink of an eye.

Heroes came in abundance for La Salle — Ren-ren Ritualo, the bull-strong Carlo Sharma, the unfancied William Wilson and finally the talented pointguard Mike Cortez who was the stabilizing factor for the champs.

He had 23 points against Ateneo’s big little man LA Tenorio’s 30 but Cortez'’s markers hurt most for the Eagles — six of them igniting a 13-4 surge from 50-39 to cut the lead to 52-54 and set the stage for the pulsating endgame where the Archers finally prevailed.

"This is the sweetest victory for us," said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren inside the press room, his eyes still red and just starting to swell a bit following a tearful centercourt celebration.

"At least we’ve now erased the stigma of 1988. And for me, winning a fourth straight crown for La Salle means mission accomplished," he added, referring to La Salle’s painful defeat to Ateneo in the final 13 years ago.

The Archers cried after securing the victory as thousands of fans in the bleachers gave them a standing ovation at the end of the match.

The Ateneo players were in tears, too, as their school hymn was being played. Tenorio was seen crying, his head buried on the chest of his coach, Joe Lipa, who was on his way out as Ateneo coach.

Membrere was also in tears while embracing the outgoing Ateneo mentor who, in a spirit of sportsmanship, walked in the middle of the La Salle celebration, shook the hands of some La Salle players, and then Pumaren’s.

Ritualo, celebrating the victory and his final game as an Archer, waved a big La Salle flag and teary-eyed, kept shouting "thank you, thank you!" to the crowd.

"Sobrang sarap. Ibang feeling ito," he said, hitting three triples in the third quarter after groping for form earlier in the contest.

Then it was Sharma’s turn to draw praises from Pumaren following his monstrous game that netted the 6-foot-6 rookie 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Sharma, who was suspended in Game Two for his misconduct in the series’ opener, won by the Archers, sank the biggest basket of the game although it seemed that Ateneo’s Rich Alvarez had tapped it into the rim, leading to a three-point play and an 86-83 La Salle lead, time down to 1:51.

The Archers simply cruised along, unleasing a 7-1 spurt to put the game away at 93-88.

"No excuses. We lost fair and square," said Lipa who had silenced his critics by bringing the Eagles to the finals against the Archers despite tremendous pressures from various quarters.

The Green Archers operated efficiently on low post right in the first eight minutes of the do-or-die contest behind Sharma and the bull-strong Adonis Sta. Maria to lead by five twice.

But Tenorio gave hint of an explosive first-half stint with a three-point and a gung-ho drive off a flank of La Salle defenders to tie the count at 15-all.

The two teams fought through two more deadlocks with the last at the end of the period at 24-all.

Then came Ateneo’s finest moment in the first half as the Blue Eagles seized the initiative and uncorked a blistering running game behind season MVP Rich Alvarez, Paolo Bugia and Paul Tan-chi, sparking the first of two massive surges for a 37-30 margin.

The Blue Eagles fuelled that breakaway on a 6-2 splurge built around Alvarez, Bugia and Andrew Cruz for a 10-point lead at 43-33 before Cortez put some order to La Salle’s offense and the Green Archers moved within six at 37-43.

But the Blue Eagles just wouldn’t yield the momentum as Bugia hit on a jumper and after Sharma scored on a top-of-the-key jumper, Tenorio, the prized recruit from San Beda, scored on a twisting layup and intercepted a La Salle inbound for a shattering three-pointer at the buzzer, iginiting a big roar from the Ateneo side of the Big Dome as the half ended at 50-39.

UAAP NOTES: La Salle coach Franz Pumaren said they were dedicating the victory to one Guillermo Dela Vega who died of heart attack after watching Game Two. He said the man was from Ateneo but his sons were La Sallians.... Government officials were seen in the crowd, like regular fixture Tourism chief Dick Gordon and Sen. Ralph Recto... there were celebrities and movie stars around and fans with faces painted with their schools’ colors. There would be nothing like it for sure for a long, long time, unless the Archers and the Eagles meet again in the near future.