.it was the sweetest of victories! the de la salle university green archers played inspired basketball this afternoon before thousands of green-bloods at the araneta coliseum, and many tens of thousands more watching on television. a fairy tale ending to the uaap basketball season after being suspended last year.
i was too nervous to watch the game in the beginning (as always) though i could hear what was going on from my brother's tv next door. from the start i could sense that UE was going all out to restore their championship hopes, but la salle had other plans. after playing catch-up early in the first quarter the archers gained the lead and controlled the tempo from then on. at this point i could no longer concentrate on the dvd i was watching and had to witness the action myself.
it was inspiring! that's the best word that i can use to describe the game that jvee, t.y., rico, cholo and the rest of the team played. i could sense a championship crown as early as the second quarter but i knew that UE could easily turn the game around at any time. that is how much most of us respect their ability and capacity in basketball. the green archers though just wouldn't give in. play after play i was wowed by their resilience, fending off rallies from the opposing team. even on the free throw line they showed a renewed confidence.
with time ticking closer to the end, it was jvee casio taking the helm. his miraculous jumper as the shot clock expired sent the la salle crowd howling in amazement. they could smell victory. i was clapping and jumping when i saw that shot made. wow! and it seemed that it was that shot that broke the red warriors' backs. they seemed lost after that point, in panic. as the buzzer sounded the end of the season, i could hardly contain my emotions. i'm sure the same was true for thousands of la sallians who saw the game. the gallery of green in araneta must have roared and thundered more than what the cameras could capture.
i was touched as cameras focused on la salle's players and the coaching staff in a jubilant frenzy on the court. i was touched when i saw cholo villanueva shedding tears. but i was even more moved when i saw the UE red warriors, a picture of silent dejection
in one corner of the coliseum. they were stunned. they did'nt expect this. they didn't expect that their season would end this way.
though buoyed by this triumphant game by the green archers, i am sure many la sallians like myself feel bad for the UE red warriors in their heartbreaking loss. they had a record-breaking season, many said they were invincible. and to some extent they were. but the finals is far from being an ordinary game. and for championship rookies like them it seemed like a big hurdle to overcome. in game 1, the turnovers did them in brought about by coach pumaren's defensive tactics. in game 2, though the turnovers were checked, they failed to control the boards they so dominated in past games.
at this time the green archers must still be partying, celebrating their triumph somewhere in the metropolis. you deserve it guys. how i wish i was there celebrating with all of you. how i wish i could be in the campus in taft tomorrow for the homecoming of the crown. thank you guys for the pride that you have once more bestowed on our alma mater. thank you jvee. thank you rico. thank you cholo and t.y. (heard you're graduating). thank you to the rest of the team. and thank you to coach franz for again steering us to another glorious season!
"we won when it mattered". "two is greater than three". "from rock bottom to the peak of success". "vindicated!". "2 is greater than 14".
never shall we fail. hail to thee our alma mater. hail! hail! hail!
animo la salle!
postscript: dj boom gonzales was interviewing sharon yu on the phone this morning. she said that the team went back to taft after dinner last night and celebrated till dawn. the formal victory celebration will be on thursady at 4pm at the campus.
(i was composing this post last night at around past midnight when my computer gave up on me. good thing i didn't lose this article. thought i had to rewrite it. the prayer to st. john baptist de la salle worked!)
animated gif and photos courtesy of
greenarcher.net. 
