The Green Archers headed into the FilOil Flying V Preseason Cup with a new coaching staff, seven new players, and no imports. Despite coming into the tournament with a raw team, they powered through and carried on until they reached the end of the tunnel—the Finals. Notwithstanding the fact that they bowed to the San Beda University Red Lions in their Finals matchup, expectations were still high for the Taft-based squad because of the talent the team still possessed.
Going deep then falling short
The Green-and-White ended the elimination round with a win-loss record of 5-2. La Salle showed their promise with convincing wins against the University of Santo Tomas, Arellano University, and Colegio de San Juan Letran. However, DLSU also showed that there is still room for improvement with their narrow victories against the University of Perpetual Help, Mapua University, Centro Escolar University, and Lyceum of the Philippines University. Furthermore, their losses against the University of the Philippines and San Beda showed the newness of the team and the system they are trying to instill.
Head coach Gian Nazario constantly preached that the team is still undergoing a process, “For FilOil, naiintindihan nila yung roles nila. They’re starting to figure that out. Again, it’s just a matter of them mastering it and understanding—di namin maiwasan yung selfishness…but it’s all part of the learning process that we have. And yes, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Just like what I said, everything will be addressed in practice. It’s not that it’s a roadblock.”
(For FilOil, they understand their roles. They’re starting to figure that out. Again, it’s just a matter of them mastering it and understanding—we have a hard time avoiding selfishness…but it’s all part of the learning process that we have.)
With high expectations for the team, they responded with a runner-up finish, losing again at the last leg of the tourney to the reigning NCAA champions, San Beda Red Lions, 74-57. Despite the loss, Nazario expressed how proud he was of what the team had accomplished, “Moving forward, we just have to be positive considering that we’re a new group. They’ve shown a lot of dedication during our practices, during our workouts, so again, I’m happy where we are. It’s a matter of us getting better. We’re just happy that we’re in this situation considering that we’re a new group, nakapasok kami sa Finals.”
(…considering that we’re a new group, we got in the Finals.)
Looking for their identity
It is clear that ever since the head coach took over, there was going to be a new system to guide the team. The new starting five of Aljun Melecio, Andrei Caracut, Kurt Lojera, Ralph Cu, and Justine Baltazar is a prime example of what the new system would look like—a new pace and space system with at least four players on the court who can shoot the three-pointers.
One player who has been thriving in the new system is sophomore guard Encho Serrano. His athleticism and improved shooting has proven to be a big factor. “Ginagawa ko lang best ko—na pinapatunayan ko kay coach na worth it yung binibigay nilang chance sa akin. Hindi ko pinapabayaan tiyaka I’ll always give my best, my 100 percent lagi,” Serrano responded when asked about what helped him this preseason tournament.
(I just did my best—I proved to coach that the chance they gave me was worth it. I’m not complacent, and I’ll always give my best, my 100 percent always.)
Moreover, Baltazar contributed to their success, being awarded yet again with a Mythical Five berth and being named the Best Defensive Player of the tournament. When asked what he felt when he was recognized for his craft, Baltazar responded, “Sobrang saya kasi pangalawang beses ko na ‘to nakuha sa FilOil.”
(I’m so happy because it’s the second time I’ve achieved this in the FilOil Cup.)
Ultimately, it was not the finish the Green Archers had in mind. But for a team that has an assortment of new players, a new coaching staff, and a new culture that they are trying to instill, this was still a commendable tournament for the Green-and-White.
