After almost five years since its last postseason appearance, De La Salle University is determined to return to the Final Four especially since it is the host school of UAAP Season 84.
There are notably a lot of new faces in its program such as the likes of coach Derrick Pumaren, Evan Nelle, and Mark Nonoy who were brought in during the prolonged off-season to find a way back into the fold.
One of those newcomers, spitfire guard Deschon Winston, had a spectacular first outing in this campaign. The 6-foot-4 two-and-through guard produced 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 32 minutes of action as he steered the Green Archers towards a 71-66 win over University of the East.
“I was really excited to play this game and in the UAAP,” said Winston, who previously played for Division I school Central Michigan University.
“New country, new environment, and my team and I worked really hard the past couple of months so I was just happy to go out there and compete.”
Competing in Philippine basketball as a Filipino-American player for the first time because of its physicality and roughness. Despite all the hard hits he took while trying to get past the Red Warriors’ pressing game, Winston took everything in his stride and came up with a standout performance.
His most important basket of the game, though, came with 2:38 left in the contest as he sunk a three-point basket that gave the Green Archers a 70-61 cushion. 
“The objective is the same but playing here in the Philippines, I feel like it’s more passion with the players here.
“There’s more fire in the players here. I noticed that with my own teammates while practicing with them. It’s more competitive and they always bring fire,” said the 22-year-old guard out of California.
As a Pumaren player, Winston is expected to contribute on both ends of the floor. Going against the plays that he and his teammates work on in practice is also a big no-no considering the emphasis on discipline.
The 22-year-old converted eight out of 14 field goals with a variety of shots. As of now, he is just making sure that he follows the instructions given to him and his comrades to the letter.
“I scored some good points. I tried to get a lot of points from steals and easy layups. That’s usually what we try to do, we try to practice and make the team feel it so we can get the easy baskets. It can be anybody in our team that could get these numbers with the defense that we play and the defense that we wanna play. We’re getting easy points and easy steals,” said Winston.
There is still a long way to go from where Green Archers want to be. While a win is a win, there were a lot of warning signs such as La Salle allowing the Red Warriors multiple chances to get back into the game.
With that said though, a little positive is not wrong especially as this year’s hosts are fielding very much a brand new team compared to their last outing in Season 82. Winston helped seal a much-needed confidence booster for the games head.
“We should expect a lot of things from La Salle. I love my guys, captain Balti [Baltazar] and Kurt [Lojera]. They really helped me with the transition from the jump so I couldn’t ask for any better teammates. And the coach (Derrick Pumaren), I love my coach.”
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