Patience really pays off.

A year ago, three squads were on the receiving end of excruciating setbacks that not only tested their will, but also their purpose.

It was an agonizing experience for each team, but it did not dampen their resolve to bounce back.

Come 2025, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, and San Beda reclaimed the glory they once lost to top their respective tournaments in dramatic fashions.

It was never easy, but faith brought them to higher places one could only dream about.

Jacob Cortez was open about his intention when he transferred to La Salle less than two years ago: to win the championship for his father Mike, a former Green Archer who once conquered the UAAP basketball twice in the early 2000s.

Led by the cat-quick guard, De La Salle recovered from a flat start and hiked its record to 6-3 before stumbling down to yet another three-game slide that almost jeopardized the school's Final Four bid.

But they made it through, barely, and faced the No. 1 National University which held a twice-to-beat advantage against the No. 4 DLSU.

From there, Cortez delivered big hits and had graduating captain Mike Phillips on the side to steer the Archers back to the finals after ousting the Bulldogs in two games.

They had plenty of help, with Vhoris Marasigan and Luis Pablo all contributing well to help the Archers take down the reigning champion UP Fighting Maroons in the best-of-three championship series.

It was the team's 11th overall title and second in three years. And to make the story sweeter, De La Salle achieved the feat with the bumps and delays, including injuries and suspensions that were all handled well by head coach Topex Robinson.

San Beda, once again, proved its status as the King of the NCAA jungle after reigning supreme in the Season 101, besting long-time rival Letran in two games.

Coming from a semis loss last year, the Mendiola-based squad turned the agony into fuel to regain its position at the top.

With head coach Yuri Escueta at the helm, Agjanti Miller, Yukien Andrada, Jomel Puno, and Nygel Gonzales powered the Red Lions to a brilliant victory against the Allen Liwag-led St. Benilde in the semis.

Like an old story revisited, they faced Titing Manalili and the gallant Letran Knights in the NCAA Finals.

But unlike the anticipation of a wild and frantic finish, San Beda was just too strong and would never be denied this time, finishing their rivals in two games and to the delight of the thousands in attendance at the Big Dome.

In late 2024, Kent Pastrana and the UST dribblers saw the championship slip away from their hands, succumbing to Camille Clarin and the NU Lady Bulldogs in a finale the Tigresses would painfully take as a lesson.

Aside from its crushing loss, UST wondered if Pastrana, who broke out in tears, would ever come back to run it again.

They would soon find out the answer in the most emphatic way possible.

Pastrana, the versatile Negrense guard, and the Tigresses came out with sheer will and swept their elims assignments to go straight into the finals where Ateneo, Adamson, and reigning champion NU figured in a stepladder format.

When all were set and done, the Lady Bulldogs beat Kacey Dela Rosa and the Blue Eagles by the slimmest of margins, 67-66.

Met with tall odds, NU persevered and took Game 1 in the finals.

It was a wake-up call.

Refusing to surrender and suffer the same fate last season, they regrouped and dominated the next two to deliver the school's 13th women's crown.

Again, the UST community watched as the Tigresses drowned in their own tears. But this time, it was tears of pure joy.