UAAP: Green Archers aim to take down upstart UP

Barely a week into the season, two different teams with one common goal sit atop the upper half of the UAAP Season 78 Men’s Basketball standings. The DLSU Green Archers, fresh off a victory over the defending champions, the NU Bulldogs, will take on a revitalized UP Fighting Maroons squad this Wednesday, September 9, at 2 pm in the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

In their respective opening games, La Salle and UP pulled off statement wins that meant to set the tone for the season ahead. For the Green Archers, pulling off a 67-63 win over NU proves that they mean business. Jeron Teng led the Green Archers with 18 points, four rebounds, and made the crucial basket that sealed the game, while Andrei Caracut debuted with an impressive 13 points and three assists. The Fighting Maroons, on the other hand, started their season on the right track after taking a 62-55 win over the UE Red Warriors. Gelo Vito came off the bench to finish with a team-high 11 points on three three-pointers that ignited the run to put away the Red Warriors for good.

The Green Archers swept both games against UP last season, with both meetings ending in blowouts in DLSU’s favor. Teng led La Salle with 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 74-53 win that saw the Green-and-White extend their win streak to four.

Both teams opened the second round against one another and this time, it was Almond Vosotros who led the way with 21 points, two rebounds, and four assists in an 86-65 win that extended their winning streak to seven games. JR Gallarza finished with 18 points, while Mikee Reyes added 14 in UP’s first outing in the second round.

Both LaSalle and UP will be sporting relatively new lineups, with the Green Archers missing the services of key veterans Vosotros, Norbert Torres, and Arnold van Opstal. The Fighting Maroons, on the other hand, lost Reyes, who led UP last season with 12.1 points per game, and Kyles Lao, who will be out for the season due to a knee injury he suffered in the preseason.

Key for DLSU in this game will be to control the boards, as despite their win last Sunday, they were outrebounded by NU, 47-42. The Fighting Maroons also had 47 rebounds in their win over UE, though the Red Warriors finished with 54. La Salle would also have to repeat what they did against NU at the free throw line as they made 17 out of their 22 free throw attempts, good for 77.26 percent. UP, on the other hand, missed 13 of their 31 attempts from the line against UE.

Aside from focusing on rebounding, UP will look to force the Green Archers into committing turnovers as they averaged 15.6 turnovers compared to 17.6 in Season 77. Though La Salle had 17 in their win against NU, DLSU will try to force the Fighting Maroons into committing mistakes, as the Diliman-based squad coughed the ball up 30 times in their win over UE.

Teng, Jason Perkins, and Caracut will be at the forefront of the DLSU attack, while Gallarza, who averaged 11.6 points in Season 77, will lead UP along with Dave Moralde and Jett Manuel.

Both teams currently sit atop the league. Though it is quite early in the season, both teams are looking to stay there for the long run. For La Salle, every win will take them one step closer to the title they dearly want back. UP, meanwhile, will look to eclipse their win total last season, a feat that means so much more despite this game being their only their second this season.