DLSU’s Sargent earns his stripes

“Whatever the team needs, I’m there. Whatever [DLSU] coach Juno [Sauler] tells me, I’m doing,” shared Julian Sargent after he helped the DLSU Green Archers dispose of the NU Bulldogs in their elimination round finale.

Sargent has filled various roles this season for DLSU, playing both guard spots and small forward on occasion, and his words after the team’s most impressive win to date perfectly reflect his actions on the court.

To end the first round, the versatile Sargent stepped up and scored in double digits for the first time in his UAAP career, tallying 10 points and four rebounds against the athletic wingmen of the UST Growling Tigers. To make his outing even more impressive, the 6’3 guard scored nine of his points in the final quarter to help seal the victory for the Green Archers.

In their next contest, Sargent was tasked to defend the ADMU Blue Eagles’ Kiefer Ravena, the league’s leading scorer. Unfazed, Sargent helped limit Ravena to just eight of 23 shooting from the field while he scored 11 points of his own to add to his outstanding defensive showing.

There are also times when Sargent has been tasked with playing point guard, with his role shifting to bringing up and distributing the ball, causing a match-up problem for opposing guards who are sometimes half a foot shorter than him. Though he scored just four points in La Salle’s second round win over the Bulldogs, he dished out three assists, collected as many rebounds, and hounded NU’s lead guard Gelo Alolino. Sargent limited Alolino to just 41 percent shooting on 17 field goals, four turnovers and zero assists which effectively stagnated the NU offense.

Since struggling in the team’s first two games and getting benched in the next two, Sargent has averaged 6.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 21.2 minutes over DLSU’s last 10 outings, three of which he started, but many of his contributions cannot be measured with statistics.

The product of Cortez High School in Arizona, USA averaged 24 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists in his senior year of high school in 2009 according to maxpreps.com, but doesn’t mind doing the dirty work and having various roles with the Green Archers. He sums it up well in one statement, saying, “I just wanna help the team and I wanna pursue this run for the championship.”

After watching La Salle win it all in 2013, he shares that he’s excited for his chance, “I wasn’t able to experience that (UAAP Championship) last year because I was [undergoing] residency but now I get my chance so I just wanna do whatever I can.”

Come La Salle’s Final Four showdown against the FEU Tamaraws, Sargent may be once again tasked to defend fiery guard Mike Tolomia, who has averaged 22.5 points in their two wins this season against DLSU.

When asked if he was up for the challenge, Sargent quickly responded saying, “Yeah, I guard everybody.”