A new champion will be crowned this Tuesday as the resurgent De La Salle Green Archers will square off against the still undefeated National University (NU) Bulldogs.
The Green-and-White squad though has proved that the team is once again worthy of a championship status after eliminating three top contenders.
On the other hand, the Bulldogs have defied odds, riding a ten-game winning streak and eliminating the defending Filoil champions, Ateneo Blue Eagles, in a convincing 85-68 victory.
Both finalists did not make it to the UAAP Season 74 Final Four; National U took home an unwanted 5th and the La Salle players went home with tails between their legs because of a disappointing 6th place finish.
In their first round meeting in the last UAAP season, the Archers breezed past the Bulldogs with a 74-63 game led by L.A. Revilla’s 19 points.
In their second round meeting, though, La Salle struggled behind a 25-point explosion by Bobby Ray Parks that had led the Green-and-White to lose, 56-40.
The LaSallian gives you a heads up on the likely matchups in the much-awaited finals.
Bobby Ray Parks stellar play
We all know that this kid can explode and hit his mark.
Bobby Ray Parks, most commonly known as Ray-Ray, has achieved a season-high 30 points from a jaw-dropping 71 percent shooting in his team’s win against Ateneo.
Averaging 19 points a game, the Memphis native will surely display a high-output performance in the championship.
Parks is an expert on tough jump shots, crashing the boards, dishing dimes and throwing down vicious slams.
Expect him to get hot, mount an early lead, and never look back.
For La Salle to contain this offensive juggernaut, the defenders must never leave this player alone; they must give him difficulty in finding his rhythm.
Free throw shooting
The Archers would also need to capitalize on more trips to the line.
In the team’s last game against San Beda, the Taft ballers sank 80 percent of their freebies aiding them to win the game; they could earn multiple trips to the charity stripe by drawing fouls.
But if their shooting goes south, expect them to offset it by dominating the boards for second chance points.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are shooting 67 percent overall from the foul line, which has served as an early warning for the Archers to foul them smartly.
Tight DLSU defense vs. Loose NU offense
Very much like the San Beda Lions, the NU Bulldogs boasts of many offensive gunners with the likes of Parks, Emmanuel Mbe, Jeff Javillonar and Denice Villamor.
Alternatively, La Salle has a team of defense-oriented wingmen with Jed Manguerra leading the way.
The Bulldogs rained down 10 triples in a recent game against Ateneo.
See the Archers place an emphasis on the defensive end to counter the streaky outside shooting of Parks and company. If they fail to shut them down, a blowout awaits them.
After being a half court-oriented team last year, Eric Altamirano’s Bulldogs now employs the run-and-gun system, which effectively lights up the score board with its quick style of play that has translated to 13 fast break points per game.
Meanwhile in Gee Abanilla’s squad, a half court set is being employed, which emphasizes the importance of effective ball movement and high percentage shots. Expect the men in green to give the extra pass all game long to create more scoring opportunities.
Battle of the Bigs
With the absence of Arnold Van Opstal, Norbert Torres has made big leaps in this tourney by averaging a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards per contest.
The 6-foot-6 big man has been equipped with a plethora of post moves thanks to the outstanding efforts of former Archer Jun Limpot. He has also proven that he could hang on with bigs like Ola Adeogun and Ian Sangalang.
NU’s big man, Emmanuel Mbe, though has improved drastically, becoming the perfect sidekick for Ray-Ray Parks.
The Cameroonian big man has an arsenal of post moves and an improved midrange game, which labels him as a treat if ever Parks is swarmed by the defense.
Aside from Mbe, they have another Cameroonian import in Henri Betayene, off the bench.
With the burden and challenge that NU has presented, look for backup big men, Fonzo Gotladera, Yutien Andrada, Jovet Medoza and Papot Paredes, to elevate their game by patrolling low posts to give Torres some breathing room.
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Much has changed for the Archers after a dismal UAAP Season. A brand new coaching staff and blue chip recruits in Jeron Teng, Mac Tallo, Gabby Reyes and Thomas Torres have revamped the fabled squad.
With coach Abanilla’s new system, the Green Archers’ potentials have finally been unlocked.
National U, on the other end, also beefed up its team’s roster with Mark De Guzman and Henri Betayene, while harnessing the one-two punch combo of Parks and Mbe.
It was 2007 when La Salle last earned the Filoil championship while it is NU’s first time to step into the finals.
After the final buzzer of the finals, a new champion will arise.
4 replies on “Title Chase: Archers versus Bulldogs Filoil Championship preview”
Win or lose, we bettered Ateneo!
Hopefully we’ll hang up a 27th championship banner at Razon though.
Animo La Salle! :-bd
More work is needed for this team so they can be a serious contender come the UAAP. ADMU and FEU are still the top contenders with FEU playing their OLD rookies this year. And we can be sure this 2 teams are going to be helping each other out again. But this is a good start. The team is playing with more passion and has a better direction. And we should thank Boss Danding for this resurgence. MVP and Montinola will now have second thoughts if they try to cheat! ANIMO LA SALLE!!!
Like I’ve always said, between a good offensive team and a good defensive team, I’ll always pick the former. The offense has so many options, while the defense has so many guesses. That’s what happened at 64-54. God day.
Spot on, sir! Offense over defense; especially against a very offensive team such as the NU Bulldogs.
We should be battle-ready for UAAP 75 now. Knowing that Luigi, Oda, and AVO are going back to the fold, only chemistry will be a problem–but I am sure that the staff knows how to deal with that.
Like what the blues did TEN YEARS ago, let’s END THE STREAK. Animo La Salle!