In both wins and losses, it has been a noticeable trend that the Green Archers seem to live and die by the quartet of Arnold van Opstal, Jeron Teng, Jason Perkins, and Almond Vosotros. When the Green Archers win, they seem to be as formidable as any other unit in the league, yet when it comes to losses, their level of basketball doesn’t seem to be at par with their potential on paper.
Though some individual statistics stand out as barometers, such as Teng’s assist numbers and Perkins’ overall efficiency, analyzing the behavior of the team as a whole yields even more interesting trends. Playing a quicker pace this season as compared to last year, the Green Archers have had a statistically superior season thus far, but it has not yet translated into wins. The right mix of consistency and end-game poise come the second round though could very much lead to a change of fortune for La Salle.
Defense always matters
After seven games, the Green Archers established themselves as one of the teams with the quickest pace in the league with an average of 74.3 points per game, good for second in the league behind the FEU Tamaraws. When La Salle runs the fast break and racks up the points, it more often than not leads to a victory as the team averages 78.7 points per game in wins while tallying an average of just 69 points over their four losses. So far in the season, head coach Juno Sauler’s squad has tallied the most points in a single game, when they scored 96 in a win against UP.
One of the biggest contributors to their lightning-fast style of play are fast break points and points off turnovers. The Green Archers average 6.9 fast break points and 16 points off turnovers, both of which are second once again to league-leading FEU. It comes at a price though as they also allowed 74 points a contest from their opponents which is the third highest mark in the league. This is an alarming statistic for the team that just last season led the league in points allowed, as La Salle’s opponents scored just 64 points per game on average in UAAP 75.
The increased pace has allowed them to score more points, but at the same time, their opponents have feasted on offense as well. It is no surprise that they find themselves with more wins than losses so far, especially with the opportunities they give their opponents to gain offensive momentum, as witnessed in the team’s losses against FEU and the UE Red Warriors wherein the Green Archers lost double digit leads in a span of a few minutes.
Free throws have continued to be the most obvious weakness of the Green Archers, as they have made just 61 percent of their attempts, good for just sixth place in the league. Despite the rough start, including a season-low 27 percent against UE, the team has shown a marked improvement over the last two games of the eliminations, making 81.8 percent against AdU and 84.6 percent when they faced the NU Bulldogs.
The last stretch
The Green Archers will have to pick up on the defensive end and they have the tools to do so, especially with the towering combo of van Opstal and Norbert Torres already patrolling the paint. The rotations on defense of the team leave much to be desired though, but as the players familiarize themselves with one another, this is bound to improve. Torres and van Opstal have already proved to be more than capable of holding their own against rival centers thus far and together with Perkins, they average 24.4 out of the team’s 46.4 rebounds per game which is good for second in the league. Scoring from the inside has not been a problem for the team as well with van Opstal, Torres, Perkins and even Teng contributing consistently down low, evidenced by the 33.4 points in the paint per game scored by the team.
The expectations of the Lasallian community and the burden that it imposes on the young shoulders of the members of each team is immense and only those as mentally inept as they are physical will remain standing at the end of the season. The Green Archers will need to step up in more ways than one to make it to the top four and from there, anything is possible. Though a championship may seem like a longshot now, the talent on the roster remains the team’s best asset and there is no denying that once the team successfully jives, hopefully sooner rather than later, La Salle will be primed for a legitimate championship run.
