De La Salle Green Archers: UAAP S78 Starter Pack

Hauling the Best of this Class

UAAP Season 77
Record: 10-4 (3rd – Eliminated semifinals)
Offense: 72.5 ppg (4th)
Defense: 66.4 ppg (3rd)
Rebounds: 46.9 rpg (1st)
Assists: 14.9 apg (2nd)

Pomp and Circumstance:
Yutien Andrada, Almond Vosotros, Norbert Torres, Matt Salem (transferred to NU), Robert Bolick (transferred to San Beda), Terrence Mustre (transferred Adamson), Arnold Van Opstal (transferred to Bench)

Depth Chart:

Who can forget the corner triple that shatter the hearts of the Lasallian community back on a rainy Final Four Wednesday match made by FEU’s Mac Belo? The DLSU Green Archers were one stop away from extending their rubber match against the Tamaraws and gave their team a shot to advance to the finale.

However, it was also that game that marked the last outing for some of the Green Archer squad, who failed to defend their throne. In their next two tournaments PCCL and Filoil, they also came up short in making in retaining their championship status as they ended up all in bridesmaid finishes.

After a long layoff, the DLSU Green Archers will start their 78th UAAP Season with an almost entirely new squad as they will parade 9 incoming fresh faces while also losing members due to graduation and injuries. They won’t have the services of now PBA-bound Norbert Torres, Yutien Andrada and Almond Vosotros. Arnold Van Opstal also announced that he will sit out his fifth year with the team, while Kib Montalbo is not part of this year’s roster due to an injury he obtained from the preseason tournament. In addition, Robert Bolick, Matt Salem, and Terrence Mustre are soon to be playing in new schools.

Everyone, however, knows that a new season comes a new chance for every team to contend to the top. As the race for even the final four spots is wide open for the eight schools, the DLSU Green Archers are up to the challenge of getting to the top once again despite having a fresh start in terms of their “new” roster.

Key holdovers to the team include 4th year tandem of Jeron Teng and Thomas Torres, who are expected to lead the way for the squad. Teng was second behind Ateneo’s Kiefer Ravena in terms of scoring last season and also had a terrific season numbers-wise. Second year duo of Prince Rivero and Abu Tratter, together with league-leader last year in rebounds Jason Perkins, are expected to man the front court after the departure of their main bigs.

Their incoming players however, include Joshua Torralba, Larry Muyang and Darryl Pascual, who were also part of the team’s PCCL roster and have all been training with the team for quite some time now. In addition, they also had key recruits in Jollo Go and Andrei Caracut, who amazed a lot of people in his preseason games.

Last season, they were the top rebounding team averaging 46.7 a game and second best assist team with close to 15 per outing. They also committed the second least turnovers per game at 10.3 and averaged at least 10 points in second chances.

What’s interesting with this team this year is the kind of versatility each new player can bring. The starting five did the most damage in the Filoil games as we saw Andrei Caracut’s brilliance in shooting. They also ran plays for Jollo Go and Renzo Navarro using a small lineup on the floor. Joshua Torralba is a versatile forward who can bring the ball down the court, Jboy Gob and Larry Muyang showed promises in crashing the boards while Darryl Pascual can play a stretch four role can also give height underneath. Meanwhile, Andrew Langston and Leandro Joson are completely new to the team but both showed good sniping from the perimeter in practice games.

Despite not being the absolute favorites this season due to key losses and a lot of faces in the lineup, the DLSU Green Archers will still be a top contender due to the “redemption” factor in terms of losing all their past three tournaments joined. They have this feeling that they were shocked and shattered by the way they were eliminated last season and use this setback to bounce back big in this brand new year.

They open up their campaign against the National University Bulldogs in a match between the last two champions of the UAAP. In Season 77, they won both games against NU. Meanwhile, the much-awaited Ateneo and La Salle game will be played on October 4.

Best Case: 12-2 (UAAP Finals)
Worst Case: 10-4 (Eliminated in the semifinals)

Let’s Rebuild Every Year!	Taking Flight for One Last Time

Hauling the Best of the Class	On the Verge

Underdogs Once Again	Replicating the House of Chaos

Kevin and Karim’s One Last Chance	The Dark Horse

UAAP Season 78 Women’s Basketball Starter Pack

The Ultimate UAAP Season 78 Basketball First Round Schedule