Archers annex PCCL crown

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle capped a banner season with another championship, this time repeating over Southwestern U, 70-61, to sweep the 12th Philippine Collegiate Champions League crown at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

There were no frills or thrills that marked the Archers’ classic sudden death victory over the UST Tigers in the last UAAP finals but the Taft-based cagers still relished the victory in the event that gathered the best varsity schools in the land.

“It has been a great, magical year for La Salle,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler. “We’ve learned and at the same time won this year and we hope this will carry us through the next year when we try to win championships again.”

Jeron Teng, Almond Vosotros and Jason Perkins took turns in making plays that mattered most and frustrated the Cobras no end, particularly in the fourth period when the latter crept to within five with seven minutes left in the contest.

But the Archers flaunted their championship poise to defuse the Cobras’ rally and complete their sweep of the best-of-three series after taking the opener, 64-54, last Monday.

Teng presided over the run in the stretch that saw La Salle storm to double-digit leads before Perkins and Vosotros took over with clutch baskets to secure the victory in a game marred by the ouster of La Salle’s Thomas Torres, who hit and sent Monbert Arong sprawling on the floor. Torres, who pumped in 15 points in the series’ opener, scored just three markers.

SWU, the first team outside Metro Manila to reach the PCCL finals since Greg Slaughter and the University of Visayas Lancers lost the 2007 crown to Ateneo, threatened last at 51-56 behind Cameroonian Landry Sanjo, reigning CESAFI MVP Mark Tallo and Daryl Goloran.

But a series of calls, including a fifth and final foul by Goloran and a technical foul (against SWU bench) for continuous complaining enabled La Salle to score five points in a flash and pull away again before the Archers all but settled the issue with another 7-0 blitz sparked by Vosotros for a 17-point cushion.

SWU coach Yayoy Alcoseba, however, didn’t want to make excuses.

“It was breaks of the game. Those calls hurt us, but I will not use it as an excuse because La Salle really played well and played like a champion,” said Alcoseba.

Teng, Vosotros and Perkins were later named to the elite Mythical First Team alongside SWU’s Sanjo and Tallo in simple rites presided over by PCCL chair Rey Gamboa and San Juan Vice Mayor Francis Zamora.

Teng, who struggled in the semis opener, was also named the Finals MVP.

With Teng on the firing end, the Archers took the first quarter, 19-13, and built a 34-22 lead at the turn.

La Salle used its height and heft in dominating the paint where it made half of its 26 shots and lording it over the boards, 26-15, in the early going.