Green Archers win five straight to close first round

At the beginning of UAAP Season 77, all eyes were on the defending champion DLSU Green Archers who were labeled as the favorites to win it all once again. With an intact core and several talented rookies coming in, it was not a farfetched proposition. However, the Green Archers stumbled out of the gates, blowing double digit leads en route to losing their first two contests to the FEU Tamaraws and the ADMU Blue Eagles respectively.

Head coach Juno Sauler and his wards quickly regrouped, winning nail-biting contests against the NU Bulldogs and the UE Red Warriors before taking two easy double digit wins against the AdU Soaring Falcons and the UP Fighting Maroons.

To close out the first round, they battled their foes in last year’s finals, the UST Growling Tigers, but they were severely undermanned. Thomas Torres, Arnold van Opstal and Terrence Mustre sat out due to injuries while Norbert Torres and Kib Montalbo got hurt during the game and did not return.

Despite all the injuries to key players, the defending champions eventually prevailed over UST with the help of their reserves to book their fifth consecutive victory. La Salle ended the first round with a 5-2 win-loss slate and only the Blue Eagles (6-1) have a better record at this point of the season.

The usual suspects

It comes as a surprise to no one that the trio of Jeron Teng, Almond Vosotros, and Jason Perkins have bannered DLSU so far in UAAP Season 77.

Teng, last season’s Finals MVP, has per game averages of 15 points and 3.7 assists, both a team-high, together with 7.3 rebounds. Now in his third year with La Salle, Teng has dramatically improved on his free throw shooting as he has shot 69.6 percent from the line this season, up from 53 percent last year and 56.7 percent in his rookie campaign.

Vosotros put up respectable numbers in the first round, averaging 12 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, but he has struggled with his shot, making just 33.7 percent of his field goals and 11 out of 44 three pointers. He has been the most consistent Green Archer though as he has not scored less than seven points in his seven UAAP Season 77 appearances.

Jason Perkins has continued to be one of the league’s most reliable players in his sophomore UAAP campaign, averaging 10.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He has made 53.3 percent of his field goals and shoots 88.2 percent from the free throw line so far this season. The power forward has had to move out of his comfort zone this year, playing small forward and center at times to help fill the void left by his injured teammates.

Making it count

With all of the injuries in the Green Archers’ roster, the players on the second unit have been given a chance to shine and they have made the most of it so far. Rookie swingman Julian Sargent had a rough start to the season and was even benched for two games, but he emerged as one of the heroes in the Green Archers’ win against UST. Sargent scored 10 points, scoring nine of them during a three minute stretch during the fourth quarter. He hit a three pointer and had two three point plays after he drew fouls on his lay-ups, one of which was a spectacular reverse that electrified the crowd.

Prince Rivero has also contributed off the bench and he has been impressive over the last four games, averaging 9.5 points and six rebounds while shifting between both forward spots.

Though they do not have gaudy numbers, the returning Yutien Andrada, sophomore guard Robert Bolick and rookie big man Abu Tratter have consistently provided energy to the team off the bench, sparking the Green Archers with their hustle and intensity.

Sauler was happy with how his second unit performed against UST, commenting after the game “[We got] big minutes from those coming off the bench, not just offensively. The second group made a good account of themselves.”

The road to another championship

Despite the emergence of the second unit and the team’s recent hot streak, the second round will be a difficult one for DLSU. ADMU, FEU, and NU have established themselves as top contenders while UST and UE are better than what their record suggests and could make a run in the second round.

For the Green Archers to win their second consecutive championship, they will have to continue improving as Sauler always suggests. When asked about what his team had to work on after beating UST, he shares, “All aspects, we can shoot better, lessen our turnovers, shut down our opponents. [The] little things [like] getting back on defense; we gave a lot of second chance points to UST today and we should limit those, [and also] turnovers [and] turnover points given up.”

To sum it all up, Sauler says, “[These are] all the little things that will help us.”