Red-hot Archers dispose of Bulldogs to forge UAAP title showdown vs UP

MANILA, Philippines – The UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball finals is set. 

The La Salle Green Archers started hot and finished even hotter as they eliminated the National University Bulldogs, 97-73, in their semis tussle Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to book their first finals appearance in six years.

Riding an eight-game winning streak stretching to the elimination round, the Archers shot the lights out as early as the first half and continued in the final two quarters. 

They thus will face the UP Fighting Maroons in the finals, the first time the two squads will meet in the last dance.

The Archers shot 51.4% from the field in the first half while making 6-of-13 3-point attempts, as they took an early 12-point lead. 

With the Taft-based cagers leading by just nine points, 45-36, at the half, they outscored the Bulldogs 25-14 in the third quarter.

La Salle erected a 24 -point lead — their biggest of the game — with 52 seconds remaining in the same frame after a Mark Nonoy 3-pointer. Since then, they breezed through to the end.

The last time Archers made it to the finals was in UAAP Season 80, when they were defeated by Ateneo, which, for its part, was earlier eliminated by the top-seeded UP. 

Nonoy waxed hot with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Kevin Quiambao registered 17 points and eight rebounds for La Salle — the fourth straight game the lefty guard finished in double-digit scoring. 

Jake Figueroa led NU with 19 points.