De La Salle University made a rare occurrence happen in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament as they fielded siblings Ben, Michael, and Isaiah Phillips for the first time during their 91-71 victory against the University of Santo Tomas last Saturday.
This was a special moment since it’s uncommon in the UAAP or any league to have three siblings playing for a single team.
The Altomontes of Ateneo Softball – namely Antoinette, Cheska, and Cat – were the ones to last achieve the feat during the 2010s.
Ben and Michael had been part of La Salle since Season 84, while Isaiah, a rookie big man, joined for this campaign.
“Sobrang masaya,” said Ben. “Sarap ng feeling talaga kasi, finally, yung buong Phillips family kumpleto ngayon. Once in a lifetime opportunity talaga. To see Isaiah come on the court and see 40, 41, 42 all play for De La Salle is a dream come true and we’re really blessed. We just want to thank the school and the management for making this happen, especially our coaches.
“Actually, I’ve been waiting for the opportunity, and I didn’t think it would come this early. Hats off to UST. They played a great game. The rest of our bench played really well, allowing Isaiah to come on to the court today. When I saw him enter the court to sub me out or sub someone else out, I was ecstatic.”
La Salle put up its strongest performance yet this season against UST. The Green Archers led by as much as 30 points and did not allow the Growling Tigers to take the lead even once in the game. La Salle’s bench mob contributed heavily to the win, scoring 55 points compared to UST’s 28.
Ben had four points in 11 minutes, Michael contributed five points and seven rebounds, and was a +28 in 17 minutes. Isaiah joined the game late, catching a rebound during his four minutes on the floor.
“It felt amazing,” said Isaiah. “I couldn’t do it without the support of my brothers and without the support of the whole De La Salle community, staff, coaching staff, and my teammates.
“We got the lead on UST, which allowed me to play a little earlier. There’s a lot of talent on this team. I still have a lot to learn from the kuyas, from my brothers, and from the coaching staff,” he continued.
“Hats off to UST. They’re a hell of a team, and they played really hard and they played good defense. I was just blessed to have the opportunity to share the court with so many great talents.”
Isaiah remains eligible for two more UAAP campaigns after Season 86. It remains to be seen whether head coach Topex Robinson will give him another opportunity to play on the floor.
For now, the Phillips family can be happy as their wish to see the three brothers suit up for La Salle was finally fulfilled.
“Ibang klase talaga. I was supposed to be at the back warming up getting ready for the game, but as soon as I saw coach (Topex) say ‘Isaiah get in there’, I stopped everything. I dropped my towel, I went to the thing,” said Michael. “But it was great. It was great to see him there and he’s coming in to sub for Ben. It was a great game. We all still got a long way to go, and we’re really excited to go up against Adamson for our next game.
“Hanggang ngayon, hindi ako makapaniwala na nandito na siya at kasama ko siya, kasama namin siya. It’s really just enjoying every moment. Things like these nearly come once in a lifetime for us. I give all glory to God. He’s the one who kind of constructed all of these. We just gave it to Him and He really put this whole thing together so we’re grateful to God for this.”
