Green Archers: The blueprint for a dominant season

There is no doubt that the excitement surrounding La Salle basketball is back as the DLSU Green Archers exceeded expectations after making it to the Final Four last season. Individually, Jeron Teng’s college debut was warmly accepted by the La Salle community after the Xavier alumnus won the Rookie of the Year Award and was named a member of the UAAP Mythical Five.

Fans were dazzled and La Salle was once again an exciting team to watch with countless highlights and winning enough games to qualify for the top four. However, a bitter loss to rival Ateneo in the semifinals proved to be a wakeup call for the Green Archers and it was a reminder that they were close, but not quite at the championship level.

With a new coach in Juno Sauler and four rookies suiting up this season, the community can expect a an even tougher La Salle team going into this season. With an interesting roster littered by former high school superstars, all it takes to get to the championship level are a few careful tweaks to get the team to the top. The LaSallian has come up with three different strategies which, if hypothetically employed, could lead to a dominant season from the Green Archers.

Twin tower threat

Having a twin tower threat usually favor teams because of the likelihood of dominating the key aspects of the game, namely points in the paint, interior defense, and rebounding. With seven foot tall Greg Slaughter of the Ateneo Blue Eagles playing his final collegiate season last year, his place as the dominant center in the league is now vacant.

Norbert Torres and Arnold van Opstal, standing 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8 respectively, would be a dominant force in the upcoming season if ever they would form a twin-tower threat by appearing simultaneously on the court. With Torres’ smooth post moves and van Opstal’s power in the paint, they could rack up points, rebounds and blocks during the course of the game while dominating the interior.

Defensively, Torres and van Opstal would be very effective. The two could cut off driving lanes for opponents, especially for the league’s best slashers such as Ateneo’s star guard Kiefer Ravena, NU’s reigning back-to-back MVP Bobby Ray Parks, and UE’s fiery Roi Sumang.

However, with Yutien Andrada’s unexpected ACL injury, the twin-tower duo may never be established due to the team’s lack of post players. Without Andrada, there would be a big gap in the rotations as Torres and Van Opstal will hardly be resting on the bench simultaneously.

The dream of both players taking court at the same time is not dead though and we can expect that the tandem of Torres and van Opstal to be used down the stretch, primarily for their defense.

However, with the emergence of young players for La Salle, it can be expected that other potent duos will emerge. Gabby Reyes and Jeron Teng could form an explosive tandem similar to that of Miami Heat stars Dwayne Wade and LeBron James in the NBA. A dominant performance from Jason Perkins early on in the season could also lead to more time on the court and a partnership with either Torres or van Opstal instead to form a big man duo similar to that of another NBA tandem, that of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies.

This flexibility on offense will make it difficult for teams to defend La Salle as they cannot focus on just Jeron Teng, but all the players. Spreading the wealth this season will be a key factor in determining how far Sauler’s team can go.

Utilize the Triggerman 

Free throws are essential in the game of basketball. At certain times, free throws tend to decide whether a team wins or loses a game down the stretch. A single made free throw could have given La Salle the upper hand during last season’s semifinals against the ADMU Blue Eagles, but just like the entire Season 75, these freebies were the team’s waterloo. Just last summer during the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Premiere Cup, La Salle improved from the free throw line but still shot rather poorly, making only 67 percent of their free throws.

A 1992 PBA Three-point Shootout Champion, the 1987 PBA Rookie of the Year, the PBA’s 1990 Most Valuable Player, and considered by many to be the greatest shooter that the country has ever produced, Allan Caidic, the Green Archers’ assistant and shooting coach, could be just the man to lead the turnaround. Dubbed “The Triggerman”, Caidic has been with the team since the early part of 2013.

During the offseason, Caidic has focused on the team’s free-throwing shooting, which has been atrocious during the past few seasons. Addressing this matter could help the team win a lot of games, especially during late-game foul situations of close matches. If the Green Archers can begin to convert on these free throws, the investment on Caidic would have been truly be worth it and a championship will move even closer to La Salle’s reach.

Maintain defense, be flexible on offense

La Salle’s defense played a major role in their 9-5 record last Season 75. The Green Archers led the UAAP in points allowed last year after they limited the uncontested jump shots and easy layups from their opponents, which helped them end their season in the top four. The defense was a major contributor in their wins and this year, it is expected to remain as potent, if not even more effective.

However, as good as their defense maybe, their offense was a bit scrambled as the Archers only averaged 66.9 points a game last season and had an average winning margin of just two points. The offense would often go stagnant when defenses would prevent Teng from driving to the basket or when Vosotros would be unable to convert from long distance. The emergence of the rest of the players, as well as the successful return of LA Revilla from last year’s season ending injury will prove to be the biggest factors in determining how efficient the Green and White’s offense will be.

The Green Archers have had difficulties in closing tight games. A part of this was because of poor free-throw shooting this has haunted the team late in games. Their defense works as they limit the opponent from scoring, but they find it difficult to produce points themselves.

An improved and more fluid offense is expected from the team this season, especially after Sauler’s appointment as head coach. Sauler has been known to be an extremely technical coach with a knack for finding creative ways to score the ball and defend an opponent. He is credited as one of the major reasons for La Salle’s defensive excellence last season as an assistant coach under Gee Abanilla.

For UAAP 76, we can expect a lot of players stepping up for the team. Gabby Reyes and Jason Perkins are already showing that they can be major contributors on both ends of the court. On the bench, Allan Caidic has had enough time to mentor the players and the fruits of his labor are expected to shine this season. If all these fall into place, there is no doubt that the Green Archers can exceed expectations yet again and maybe even end the six year championship drought.