MANILA, Philippines – Jeron Teng was the star, Ben Mbala was the rock, but it was Julian Sargent who served as the "game-changer" for the De La Salle University Green Archers against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles in the UAAP Season 79 finals.

La Salle head coach Aldin Ayo expected great things from Sargent entering the tournament and saw his faith in the guard pay off in the biggest of stages.

"I told you before that Sargent is a game-changer," La Salle coach Aldin Ayo told reporters after La Salle defeated Ateneo, 79-72, to complete a sweep of their best-of-three series.

• READ: DLSU sweeps Ateneo to seize second title in four years

Sargent averaged only 6.5 minutes per game in La Salle's 13-1 run through the elimination round, starting only three times and scoring 2.1 points per game.

But Ayo inserted him in his starting lineup in both finals games to set the tone on the defensive end. Sargent plays the two-guard position but was often tasked to defend opposing point guards and in this instance, that meant matching up against Ateneo's Adrian Wong.

"Hirap kaming mag-matchup kay Wong eh, kasi malaki s'ya and he's athletic, and hindi namin basta-basta ma-trap," Ayo said of Ateneo's second-year point guard.

(Wong's a difficult matchup for us because he's big and athletic. You can't just trap him.)

"But he found his match with Julian."

With Sargent starting in Game 1, La Salle roared to a 17-2 start. "He was making the stops," Ayo said.

Sargent was not as effective in the second game, but Ayo maintains it wasn't the guard's fault.

"Ang problema lang nitong laro na ito (Game 2), may mga bagay kami na hindi kontrolado and right away four fouls si Julian," he pointed out.

(The problem with Game 2, there are things that are beyond our control and right away Julian got four fouls.)

Ayo was delighted with how Sargent made his mark on the game, as he gave La Salle another weapon on defense.

Sargent, one of the team's graduating seniors, was only too happy to contribute to La Salle's title triumph, especially as he was unsure of returning for his final year of eligibility.

A proposed change in the UAAP's age limit would have denied the 25-year-old Sargent a chance to play in his last year. But that proposal was eventually scrapped, paving the way for Sargent's return.

"Words don't even describe it," he said. "Coming back and winning the championship with my brothers. I can't put it into words. It's just pure happiness."

The defensive-minded guard expressed his gratitude to Ayo for "letting me come back to La Salle," as he earned his place in the Green Archers' loaded line-up despite only returning in early June, when the team was already in the thick of its preparations for the UAAP tournament.

"If I would have missed it, I would have regretted it, because winning the championship is like the greatest feeling in the world," said Sargent.

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.