Green Archers Then and Now: When legacy meets charity

Two teams, one school.

On one side, former DLSU Green Archers while on the other, the present basketball club of the Taft-based squad as they faced off in a charity game in front of hundreds of attendants at the 9th floor of the Enrique Razon Sports Complex as part of the DLSU Vision-Mission Week.

Team Now prevailed and dominated as they pummelled their past counterparts, 93-79, in a match between the experienced veterans and the up-and-coming young guns.

Forward Jason Perkins led the game with a commanding performance as he posted 15 points along with 12 rebounds and six assists. Green Archer legend Ren-Ren Ritualo, who spearheaded La Salle’s UAAP four-peat from 1998-2001, finished with a game-high 25 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Green Archers Then team.

“Hindi pabor sa amin pero it was fun. Actually, lahat kami excited and we were very honored to play for the charity game and it’s a way to give back to the school,” said Ritualo.

Old but bold

Even with their peak physical years behind them, the Green-cladded veterans brought the game to their unsuspecting opponents as they ended the first canto with a 22-19 lead behind sweet-shooting Ritualo. The efforts of fellow alumni BJ Manalo and Mark Telan contributed greatly to their early game attack with the hotshot Manalo, who graduated from Ateneo High School before joining the Green Archers, hitting every field goal attempt from the perimeter while big man Telan offered interior presence both offensively and defensively.

In addition, Erick Arejola provided a reliable three-point shooting for the Then squad to keep the veterans in the game.

However, beginning the second quarter, the fresh legs of the Green Archer Now team finally showed up as they rained threes, ran fast breaks, forced turnovers, and dominated the glass to end the first half with a 46-39 advantage.

Nothing changed after the halftime break as the Now team continued dropping the hammer on the outgunned Green Archers by nailing them with triples, Perkins and guard Thomas Torres each making three pointers, and outworking them in the rebounds department, 50-32.

It didn’t help that their defense focused on Ritualo who made only 10 of his 25 attempts, with 12 misses coming from the three-point line.

Jeron Teng shot poorly in the game, making only a single field goal out of his 15 total attempts. His passing made up for the off shooting game as he finished with a game-high seven assists.

One play late in the game ignited the crowd after a barreling Perkins ran down the court only to have his shot rejected emphatically by Adonis Santa Maria which drew cheers from those in attendance.

Everyone happy

Players from both teams had a good time playing against each other with members of the current DLSU team chatting with their idols after the game, while the veterans expressed their compliments to the current squad. Green Archer banner men from the past and the present, Ritualo and Teng, posed for pictures as well to the delight of the fans.

Proceeds totaling P45,000 from the charity game will be used for the Lingap Scholarship Fund, Legacy Scholarship Fund, and the St. La Salle Preschool.