After two years steering the reins of the DLSU Green Archers, head coach Aldin Ayo has decided to exit the team and join the UST Growling Tigers. Deputy head coach Louie Gonzales has been established by the Office of Sports Development as his successor.
Since his appointment as the head coach of the DLSU Green Archers back in 2015, Ayo has given La Salle a championship in Season 79 and a runner-up finish in Season 80. His designation as the new mentor for the Green Archers came weeks after steering the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights to a championship in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2015.
In his first campaign with the Green Archers, Ayo led the Green-and-White to a championship after finishing the elimination round with a 13-1 win-loss record. La Salle clinched the first seed and dispatched the AdU Soaring Falcons in the Final Four. The Green Archers eventually swept archrivals AdMU Blue Eagles to earn their first championship since 2013 and the school’s ninth UAAP Men’s Basketball title overall.
The following season saw the Green Archers end the elimination round with a 12-2 slate as they clinched the second seed and again defeated the Soaring Falcons in the Final Four. La Salle, however, failed to defend its title as the Green-and-White faced an improved Blue Eagles and succumbed in three games.
Despite the success that Ayo had with the Green Archers, the passionate coach formally announced his departure from the team via a series of tweets on Twitter last Tuesday. “Much gratitude to Boss ECJ, the Managers, School Heads, the De La Salle community, all of the Green Archers fans. The two years I have spent with the Archers are two well-spent years indeed.”
https://twitter.com/AyoAV_official/status/948210873625067521
His departure will force the Green Archers to make another coaching change, the team’s fifth since former head coach Franz Pumaren left the team in 2009. Meanwhile, fellow assistant coaches Glenn Capacio and Anton Altamirano, the head coach of the Green Archers’ B Team, will remain with Gonzalez.
Along with this, Ayo will bring his signature “Mayhem” system to UST after the Growling Tigers parted ways with head coach Boy Sablan. Ayo, though, has refuted claims that he is recruiting some Green Archers to follow him to España.
