For the first time in decades, the DLSU Green Booters will head into a new season under a new coaching direction. Alongside this shift, a promising crop of rookies is stepping in to fill the gaps left by core players from the spine of previous teams—a test that will challenge La Salle’s depth and cohesion as they aim to contend with the UAAP’s top teams once again.
Stepping up
After missing the Final Four for the second straight year and losing several senior players, the Green Booters faced significant transitions for the upcoming Season 88. Among the biggest changes is the appointment of defender Frank Labayen as team captain, despite only debuting two years ago in Season 86. Labayen highlighted the many adjustments on and off the pitch: “It’s a new coaching staff, new management, and everything. Honestly, a lot of new faces. The rookies, they have a lot of potential, they have a lot of talent.” The third-year defender also embraced a mentoring role during the offseason, stepping into a role where he influences the habits of a youthful squad still adjusting to the demands of collegiate football.
Fellow Green Booter stalwart Adam Abela has likewise stepped into a leadership role, emphasizing the importance of instilling good values in the younger players. “[As seniors], Frank [and I], we always tell them if you have extra time, you have to do some extra work, in order for you to become a better version of yourself.” In a squad filled with rookies, such reminders serve as a compass for players still learning how to navigate the demands of the UAAP.
Both Labayen and Abela, though only juniors, have already been entrusted with senior-level responsibilities as La Salle searches for a better season finish compared to its previous campaigns. The new figureheads’ maturity and commitment may prove pivotal in turning a budding team into top contenders.
New wave
Headlining the class of rookies this Season 88, DLSZ’s Bacchus Ekberg brings a strong resume that includes his tenure as the captain of the U17 National Team and his back-to-back Best Defender titles in the UAAP Juniors Division. While the Filipino-Swede defender stayed because of his familiarity with the players and the institution, he also adduced the fiery values of the team as his reasons for staying within the La Salle system, “They’re really looking to push this year, and that’s something I look for in a team, a team that has passion and drive.”
Entering a new frontier, Ekberg acknowledges the leap of expectations to a more physical and tactical play. Hence, he is eager to learn from the seniors and leave it all out on the field. “Almost half the team is [composed of] rookies, including me, but the outcome and deliveries we’ve been putting in the games [will really give us] a fighting chance this year,” the rookie expresses his optimism, mirroring the squad’s belief that youth does not necessarily mean inexperience will hold them back.
High aspirations
With such a monumental shift in leadership both on and off the pitch, Labayen expressed confidence in what the new squad can deliver. The handpicked captain even asserted that the Lasallian community could expect more from the team and witness a new style of play.
Ekberg echoed his captain’s ambitions, claiming that the only acceptable goal is to prove that the La Salle football team is not a pushover by grabbing the long-awaited championship that the team has been desperate to seize for more than two decades.
The highly-touted rookie also assures the fans of the Green-and-White through his personal pledge: “The Lasallian community can expect that [I], Bacchus Ekberg, will always push the team to the limits that they can be pushed to, and that I’ll leave everything that I can on the field.”
Despite the challenges and uncertainty at the start of a new regime, the young Green Booters squad will kick off Season 88 with great ambition to achieve their dreams.
