MANILA, Philippines — Aldin Ayo knew how high hopes were when he signed up to be La Salle's head coach, having two of college basketball's best players on his side.

To meet those lofty expectations, however, Ayo still needed to preach teamwork to a squad oozing with talent.

The De La Salle Green Archers are once again the champions of UAAP men's basketball after a 79-72 victory over archrivals the Ateneo Blue Eagles at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

La Salle completed one of the most dominant campaigns in recent memory, finishing Season 79 with only one loss in 17 games and capping its run with a two-game sweep of Ateneo.

Finals MVP Jeron Teng scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half, while league MVP Ben Mbala finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Green Archers, who won their second championship in four seasons and ninth overall.

Archers win ninth championship
Year	Opponent
2016	Ateneo de Manila
2013	University of Santo Tomas
2007	University of the East
2001	Ateneo de Manila
2000	Far Eastern University
1999	University of Santo Tomas
1998	Far Eastern University
1990	University of the East
1989	Adamson

"They sacrificed a lot," Ayo said of Teng and Mbala. "Hindi sila sanay sa ganitong sistema, 'yung umiikot 'yung bola. But this time, we executed our plays. They embraced the system. Medyo huli na noong nangyari 'yun, but better late than never."

(They're not used to this system, the ball moving. They didn't embrace the system immediately, but better late than never."

"We were able to get the championship."

Ayo cut an emotional figure after the game attended by 17,495 fans, immediately going to the Big Dome tunnel to pray before a giant crucifix there.

"Sobrang hirap dito, grabe ang pressure. Ang gagaling ng coaches. Buti na lang, magaling ang mga players ko," said Ayo, who won added the La Salle title to his NCAA championship with a ragtag Letran squad last year.

"It feels good (to win back-to-back championships), pero 'di ko iniisip 'yun. Ang iniisip ko lang ay maibalik ang championship sa La Salle."

(It's so hard here. The pressure was high. The coaches are great, but it's good that my players are great. Winning back-to-back didn't cross my mind. The only thing I kept thinking was to bring the championship back to La Salle.)

Ateneo rallies anew

Like Game 1 on Saturday, the Green Archers had to scrap to win this one even though they were ahead most of the game.

The Blue Eagles were within four points, 73-69, with still 1:35 to go in the game thanks to big man Isaac Go's layup.

Playing in his final season for La Salle, Teng took matters into his own hands in their next possession, drawing the attention of the entire defense before dishing off to a wide-open Mbala for a lay-up that made it 75-69.

A triple by Raffy Verano with 59.6 seconds on the clock gave the Eagles some glimmer of hope, but Mbala and Teng were steady at the line in the dying seconds as they iced the game for the Green Archers.

Mbala and Teng were showered by an appreciative Green Archers community with "M-V-P" chants as they trooped to the line.

Teng was named Finals MVP after averaging 19 point, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 52 percent from the field in the two-game series.

Back-and-forth start

There was no slow start for the Blue Eagles this time, unlike in Game 1 when they stared at a 17-2 first-quarter deficit before slowly working their way back. Ateneo kept it close, going back-and-forth with the Green Archers in the first quarter despite Teng's scoring exploits.

Teng scored La Salle's first eight points en route to 10 at the end of the quarter.

The Green Archers trailed 16-14 with less than four minutes to go in the quarter but an 8-0 run thanks to a Kib Montalbo triple, an Mbala inside shot and a Jason Perkins three-point play put La Salle ahead 22-16 going into the second quarter.

La Salle poured it on in the second, taking advantage of Ateneo's turnovers in an 11-2 run that gave the Green Archers their biggest lead of the first half, 36-23. Montalbo's second three-pointer of the contest capped the rally.

Ateneo was able to cut the lead to 10 points by the break, but missed out on a chance to further cut the deficit, as Mbala soundly rejected Matt Nieto's attempt.

Free throw woes

La Salle maintained its advantage throughout the third quarter, though the Blue Eagles made repeated rallies and were helped by the Green Archers' fouls.

Ateneo went four-of-eight at the line in the final two minutes of the third quarter to head into the fourth down by seven, 52-59.

The fearlessness of Mike Nieto and Adrian Wong helped the Blue Eagles draw closer, with Nieto's three-pointer making it 69-65 with still 3:49 left to play.

But an unsportsmanlike foul called on Go with 2:01 to go took the wind out of Ateneo's sails briefly. Teng sank the ensuing free throws as La Salle regained possession.

La Salle was unable to make the most of the bonus possession, however, and Ateneo's last stand came when Matt Nieto and Go hit back-to-back buckets to make it a four-point game again with 1:35 to go.

As they have for five years, La Salle went to Teng and he delivered in crunch time with a crucial assist to Mbala and Ateneo was unable to recover.

Mike Nieto led Ateneo in scoring with 18 points, while Wong and Verano each had 10.

Ateneo only shot 34.29 percent from the field. The Blue Eagles had a surprising 49-38 advantage in rebounding, but they flubbed their chances at the line, making only 20 of 32 free throws.

Montalbo chipped in nine points — all three-pointers — and three steals, while Aljun Melecio added seven points.

La Salle shot 46 percent from the field, as every player Ayo fielded scored at least one point.

The scores:

DLSU 79 — Teng 28, Mbala 18, Montalbo 9, Melecio 7, Caracut 5, Perkins 4, Torres 3, Tratter 2, Rivero P 2, Sargent 1

ATENEO 72 — Nieto Mi 18, Wong 10, Verano 10, Asistio 9, Go 8, Ikeh 6, Nieto Ma 4, Ravena 3, Black 2, Tolentino 2, Porter 0, Babilonia 0

QUARTER SCORES: 22-16, 45-35, 59-52, 79-72

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