“There is no great talent without great will and power.” This quote resembles the champions. They had the will to win and the power to do so. The four champions of these leagues struggled past opponents to claim their supremacy—they ran through rough roads, went past brutal games, and overcame challenges proving their dominance. Stories will unfold, tears will be revealed, and the battles will be told.
“You must not only aim right, but draw the bow with all your might.” That was the quote that lifted the UAAP Season 70 Champion—De La Salle University Green Archers. The Archers did not have a very good view at the target champion crown; instead they fought as an underdog and fought fresh from a one-year suspension. Though they have been dormant in the last season, the Archers nabbed the title from the University of the East Red Warriors that swept the eliminations 14-0, only to bow to a more experienced Archers in the Finals.
The Warriors beat the Archers in their first two skirmishes in the elimination round, but the latter handily won the more important matches than the first. The three-week rest of the Warriors were advantages-turned-disadvantages—they did have time to rest, but they over rested which slowed down their play and their pace.
The never-say-die attitude of the Warriors makes it back-to-back NCAA titlist, and they plan to make it a triple feat. Who else is the team who popularized the Indian Yell? The only founding member of the NCAA left on the league up to the present? The team that ended its 28-year title drought? That team is no one else but the San Beda Red Lions.
San Beda College (SBC), seeking to sweep the first round that they were unable to do last year, dominated the opposition on the final game of the first round. The Red Lions faced the second place Letran Knights. Although SBC led for much of the game, the Knights made a scathing comeback capped off with six points in the last minutes of Letran’s Rey Guevarra, who converted an undergoal stab to put them up for good, after San Beda’s Pong Escobal converted a disputed two-point shot.
The Harbour Centre Port Masters, now Batang Pier, confirmed its status as the league’s premier squad as they whipped Hapee Toothpaste Sparklers and captured the 2007 PBL Silver Cup via a sweep before thousands of delighted supporters at The Arena in San Juan.
In a fitting coronation to their supremacy, the Port Masters leaned on the red-hot shooting of National University standout Jonathan Fernandez and the steadying facto of Al Vergara and Chico Lanete to annex their second straight championship in just four tournaments in the league.
There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. The Alaska Aces placed third in the 2007 Philippine Cup and vowed to have a better showing on the Fiesta Conference. They started the Fiesta Conference with a 7-4 card before the All-Star break, with Rosell Ellis as their import. Shooting Guard Willie Miller provided a strong performance for the Aces during the tournament posing numerous 20-point games.
Despite a 1-2 and a 2-3 deficit in the titular showdown, Miller, named the league’s most valuable player, bursts for 29 points to the tie series in Game 4, which the Aces recovered from a dismal performance in Game 5 with a sterling 37-point output in Game 6 to force a decision.
The rubber match showcased deadlocks as both teams showed their aggression in battle before Miller fired a go-ahead layup in the last two minutes to seal a 99-96 championship win for Alaska.
Permanence, persistence, and perseverance despite of all obstacles, impossibilities, and discouragements are the attributes of true champions. |
