Improvement: Green and Lady Archers’ summer theme

Falling short of a Final Four stint in the last UAAP season, the DLSU Green Archers found itself back to the drawing board to formulate an improved game plan to bring back its lost brilliance.

The result: a new coach and six exciting rookies.

“They [rookies] are slowly getting into rhythm. They are slowly adjusting to the system that we have…Our focus right now is based on our objective to improve,” said new-fangled Head Coach Gee Abanilla, the clutch playmaker of the Green Archers cast that bagged the first UAAP championship in 1989-1990.

With Simon Atkins and Maui Villanueva graduating, DLSU searched for potential game changers to fill in the void left by the two players.

Its prized finds are Xavier School’s Jeron Teng, De La Salle Zobel’s Gabby Reyes and Axel Torres, La Salle Greenhills’ Thomas Torres, former Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) and Jr. NBA MVP Mark Tallo, and Filipino-American player Yankie Haruna.

“We need more time to gel and to create chemistry. We will use the minor leagues such as the FMC and the Fil-Oil Flying V to further get our chemistry,” Abanilla added.

The Taft-based squad will be back in action at the 18th Fr. Martin Summer Cup (FMC) and the 2012 FilOil Flying V Pre-Season Hanes Cup.

The team will be fielding two different rosters with a younger squad to rally the FMC and the full lineup for the FilOil competition.

UAAP key players Arnold Van Opstal and Joseph Marata, however, will not play in the FilOil Premier Cup, with only the latter only suiting up for FMC.

Sophomore Van Opstal is nursing a hamstring injury while former UPIS standout Marata is struggling with academic problems.

With improvement in mind, Coach Abanilla sets his eyes on the bigger prize, “This [pre-season tournaments] is a good training ground for us. Of course, our ultimate objective is to be competitive come UAAP season [75].”

Lady Archers keen to improve in summer league 

Fresh from winning the Dickies Filipino-Chinese Basketball League (FCBL

) title early this year, the UAAP season 74 semifinalist is not satisfied as it seeks to add another silverware from the 18th Fr. Martin Cup Women’s Division (FMC).

“The team has improved tremendously. As a team, the cohesiveness is there [But] it doesn’t follow that when you have an intact line-up, you can win it all,” he shares.

Coach Bautista will be including four incoming rookies with former UAAP Rookie of the Year Miller Ong and lanky Cass Santos, who were sidelined to injuries.

The Lady Archers will work on its team chemistry, with high school standouts Nicole Samantha Arguelles, Alyssa Pauline Parel, Leunoel Angelica Dawis and Iana Nicole Calingasin coming in.

Reigning UAAP champions FEU, Adamson, and Ateneo will also participate in the summer tourney.