TWO more wins in the 2025 Playtime Cares Filoil Preseason Cup and the University of the Philippines will be bringing home the ECJ Perpetual Trophy.

To become the first-ever team to win three titles in a row, however, the Fighting Maroons will have to hurdle modern-day rival La Salle in the semifinals.

And of course, the Green Archers have other plans - the most immediate being overcoming the State U squad that denied them of the preseason crown in the last two years, as well as the UAAP Season 87 championship.

"They're standing in the way of what we want to happen. So we're excited to see what we can do against the two-time defending champions in this tournament," said head coach Topex Robinson following their convincing quarterfinals victory vs. Arellano last Friday.

At the same time, though, Robinson acknowledges that UP will be just as determined as La Salle - even though the Fighting Maroons were pushed to the limit by Adamson and Benilde in their past two outings.

As he told SPIN.ph, “It's going to be a different team come Sunday. It's going to be a well-oiled, well-prepared, motivated team. Because it's not just the Filoil championship at stake, but also the long tradition of UP-La Salle.”

“Whether it's in a far, far area and we're going to play UP, you know what to expect. It's really going to be a good quality basketball. Two teams with so much pride. So it's going to be exciting.”

The Green Archers got the better of their fierce foes back in the elimination round, 106-99.

But though they have bragging rights as of now, La Salle isn't about to take anything for granted against UP, especially since it's the next obstacle in their march towards a perfect preseason run.

“We will always find ways to maximize our strength. So if ever, yes, something that they will prepare for is our bigs. But again, we also have something to prepare for against them. We know what they are capable of doing,” said Robinson.

The latest installment in this modern-day rivalry tips-off on Sunday, 4 p.m. at the Playtime Filoil Centre.

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