La Salle halts UE's winning season!!!

GONE

La Salle unmasked University of the East’s lack of championship experience as the Archers pulled through in a nerve-wracking finish, 64-63, and snapped the Warriors’ unbeaten run in Game One of the best-of-three UAAP title series at the packed Araneta Coliseum.

TY Tang unleashed 17 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, while fellow veterans JV Casio and Cholo Villanueva added 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Archers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series the Warriors were fancied to dominate.

Rico Maeirhofer, who has recovered from a sprained ankle he sustained two weeks ago, split his charities with 14 seconds remaining in the contest to shatter a 63-all tie forced by Mark Borboran’s three-pointer from way out.

That, however, turned out to be the marginal basket as the Warriors fumbled on their make-or-break play – another Borboran attempt from behind the arch on top of the key.

“Man for man, we’re no match against them. But we have the experience and the veteran savvy to offset our disadvantages,” said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren whose Archers came off two tough Final Four matches with the Ateneo Eagles.

The Taft-based quintet, which came into the final the clear underdogs after getting swept in the elimination round by the Warriors, goes for its own sweep Sunday, also at the Big Dome.

A decider, if necessary, is on Wednesday.

UE, which last won 22 years ago during the days of Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera and which took a three-week long layoff after sweeping the elims, actually had two chances of stealing Game 1 but a three-point try by Borboran and Marcy Arellano’s tip in the dying seconds missed their marks.

Maierhofer plucked the rebound as the final buzzer sounded, triggering off a wild celebration from La Salle fans while silencing the UE side which braced for another romp against a team it dominated in the elims.

But the Archers, also out to redeem themselves from a season-long suspension last year, showed experience and grace under pressure are what it takes to win championship games.

La Salle’s defense rattled the normally cool and unruffled UE quintet as the Warriors turned the ball over 31 times, which the Archers translated into 25 points. La Salle committed only 15 errors that yielded just nine points.

That more than made up for La Salle’s setback in the rebounding department where the Warriors plucked a whopping total of 60 boards, including 29 on the offensive end as against the Archers’ 31.

La Salle’s rebound total was the lowest for a winning team this season.

That, however, hardly mattered.

It was also UE’s lowest scoring total of the season.

“I know they dominated the boards but we found some ways to offset it,” said Franz Pumaren, who steered La Salle to eight finals appearances that netted four titles.

Borboran, playing on final season, led the Warriors with 13 points, including a triple over the outstretched arms of Villanueva that knotted the count with 34.8 ticks left.

But the veteran Warrior couldn’t drain an uncontested three-point shot at endgame that could’ve lifted the UE side.

The Recto-based cagers actually threatened to rip the game apart in the early going, but each time, the Archers displayed a big fighting heart behind Villanueva, Tang, Casio and Maeirhofer.