The Heart of Archers: Amos and Baclaan’s Fight Back to the Finals

When the De La Salle Green Archers lost both Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan early in the season, there was a moment when it felt like their title aspirations would fall apart before it could even begin.

Two major pieces of their rotation were suddenly taken away, and the road back to contention looked uncertain. What followed was a pair of comebacks built quietly and painfully, grounded in long days of rehab, long nights of doubt, and the hope that they could return in time to make a difference.

When Amos first went down with his MCL injury against NU, the Finals felt impossibly far away. Expected to take on a major role as a floor-spacer in Taft, he suddenly found himself unsure if he would play again this season.

“No, I actually thought that my season was over,” Amos said in an interview. “But you know, a lot of rehab and training with the coaches really got me back.” The reality of his recovery was far from simple. His routine was heavy on unfamiliar movements: heel slides, wall slides, squats, step ups, box jumps, and slow, controlled attempts to regain strength and trust in the knee.

“I guess going through my rehab process because it was probably the most difficult part because again, no days off,” Amos shares. “The pain tolerance had to be high. Like, the pain was insane when I came to the rehab.” The first week was especially brutal.

“There was a lot of swelling… it’s like a knife is stabbing at your knee,” Amos said. “Constantly. It was an aching pain… the pain was out of this world when it first happened.”

Even when he was cleared to move, fear stayed with him. “Mentally, there’s still a side of me that was like, do I want to force it? Or do I want to continue this season? And you know, again, I just had to switch my mindset. It’s just the same as before.”

His support system became his anchor. “My family was always there for me,” he says. “They’re not really here physically, but I would always call them.” He leaned on prayer, too. “I was always praying every single night. I went to a lot of masses… to pray that my recovery went well.”

His parents reminded him to stay grateful and grounded, to recognize his blessings instead of focusing on his pain, and to understand that others had it worse. Piece by piece, he rebuilt himself. Slowly, the possibility of returning to the floor grew real again.

Today, not only is he back, but he is back in the Finals, something that once felt impossible. “It feels great just to be around the group again,” he says.

“Just continuously staying together and just being around them is great.” He is quick to shift the credit toward his teammates, the ones who carried the load while he and Kean were recovering. “We wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for the guys fighting for it. Even when me and Kean were out. We’ve got to give credit to the guys. Because they pushed through everything.”

Kean’s journey was different, shaped not just by physical pain but by a heaviness he struggled to put into words.

When he first got hurt, the feeling hit him hard. “Yung feeling niya, parang feel mo, mamatayan ka?” he says. “Parang yung feel ko kasi namatayan ka? Parang yun yung sakit na naramdaman ko.” His knee stayed swollen for days. “Every time na natutulog ako, parang kumikirot gano’n. Sakit siya… sabi ko sa sarili, parang ayoko na magbasketball.” Those were the nights no one sees, when the room is quiet and the doubt feels louder than anything else.

Still, even in the worst moments, he got up each morning and kept going. Two things kept him moving. “Syempre number one, si God, and number two, yung baby ko,” Kean says.

“Siya yung inspiration ko since nung nag-start ako… lahat ng ginagawa ko para sa kanya.” People know him for his crossovers, his pace, his energy, but behind that is a father who plays with purpose and a believer who kept finding reasons to stand back up. Even before the season began, he believed La Salle could reach the Finals. “Off-season pa lang, sabi ko kaya namin mag-finals,” he shares. “Yun nga lang, maraming nangyari na hindi maganda. Pero in a good way naman, andito na kami. So, nasa Final Four na kami.”

From thinking “wala na akong hope” to stepping back onto the court with a knee that had been through days of swelling and nights of frustration, Kean’s comeback was not neat or easy. It was built on faith, responsibility, and the quiet decision to fight through another day each time he had the chance. Now he is exactly where he believed he could be, helping La Salle chase something bigger than any individual milestone.

For the Archers, the season has been defined not just by the games they won but by the players who refused to let go.

Amos worked through fear and unbearable pain. Kean pushed past the weight of doubt and the urge to walk away. The team carried the load during their absence, and when both guards returned, the group found a new gear. Their comebacks may have come from different kinds of struggle, but they led to the same place: the bright lights of the Finals, where both are ready to give everything they have.

What brought them back wasn’t luck or ease. It was consistency, support, faith, and the belief that their story wasn’t finished yet. And now, together again, they have the chance to write the ending they imagined long before the pain began.