Javi Gomez de Liano said he had the confidence to take his three-point shots in the last quarter.
Three triples from him with 5:59 left gave the Fighting Maroons enough cushion to demolish the De La Salle University Green Archers, 97-81, on Wednesday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“It’s all about confidence. Kasi, I have been working on it naman,” said the 20-year-old De Liano after the Fighting Maroons made it to the semifinals for the first time in 21 years in the 81st University Athletic Association of the Philippines Men’s Basketball Final Four.
De Liano’s treys handed the Fighting Maroons an 84-61 cushion and this allowed them to end their second-round stint with three consecutive wins for an 8-6 record.
The last time the Fighting Maroons reached the Final Four was in 1997 when they were led by Paolo Mendoza and Bryan Gahol and coached by Nic Jorge.
That year, the Fighting Maroons also finished the elimination round with an 8-6 slate. The Far Eastern University Tamaraws, which had a twice-to-beat incentive entering the semis, lost to the UP in their first meeting, 70-69. In the rubber match, UP did not advance to finals after absorbing a 69-70 setback.
This time UP has a better chance of making it with Bo Perasol as the coach and with a team, which showed composure to keep fighting on until the end.
The Tams have an 7-6 slate in fifth, needing to win against the Adamson Falcons on Sunday to force a playoff with the La Salle Green Archers for the last berth.
“It helped that we were able to get a sizeable lead. I just reminded them on getting home-run wins. Meaning, we cannot think about winning a game when we have not finished it yet. They just focused on the next possession, on the next two minutes. These are young people who needed to be guided, and they responded well,” said Perasol.
The last time UP was the third seed entering the Final Four was back in Season 59, finishing that season with a 9-5 record.