The DLSU Green Booters are all about training hard and getting back to their old shape as a title contender.
The line-up of the squad underwent an overhaul as key players like Kim Smit, Enrique Romero Salas, Rey Behag and Pat Laluces will be leaving the ranks of the three-time UAAP champions.
These players were played big in helping the team reach the third place during the last UAAP season and the loss of experience, which they brought on the pitch, will be felt. Losing players, however, only means acquiring new players and that is exactly what happened.
Coach Hans Smit now has more players to field. Once more, the team will be bannered by holdovers Captain Migs Patag, Patrick Deyto and forward Arturo Enriquez, while the rest of the recruits will give speed and talent to the team.
New players like Nathan Alquiros, Mat Nierras, Gio Diamante, Al Bustamante and Junpei Ogawa are to watch out for.
The hardworking Green Booters have their conditioning training thrice a week along with some tune-up games to get back in shape and to gain chemistry as a team. They joined the 15th Philippine University Games (UniGames) where they placed fourth, a big accomplishment compared to last year.
The torrent of the Lady Booters during the last Philippine University Games (UniGames) cannot be denied. The romp continued until the finals, where they convincingly trampled University of the Philippines, 5-2, to win their 11th title in 12 years.
The Booters are eyeing another rare feat—to win back-to-back crowns in the UAAP, an achievement they last tasted five years ago.
They had a busy off-season, compiling a two-win, one-loss and one-draw record in the Metro Manila Girls Football Association (MMGFA), a tournament that happens every Sunday and will culminate on Dec. 5. They drew with Far Eastern University (FEU) and lost to a familiar adversary, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Booters.
Their line-up is mostly intact with only former team captain Martie Plaza as the sole subtraction to their roster. Bolstering their line-up and bid for back-to-back crowns are rookies Isabel Montelibano and Lexi Payumo, who are both from Assumption College, Chermaine Guancia, who is from University of St. La Salle, and Louise Hain, who hails from St. Scholastica’s College.
Opponents UST and FEU will once more be on the prowl and will try to derail the Green-and-White Squad from annexing a second straight crown.
