For most programs, losing a generational talent and a senior in the same offseason is enough to signal a rebuild.
For De La Salle Zobel, the scenario was, unfortunately, exactly that. With UAAP Season 87 MVP Kieffer Alas chasing his United States dream and graduating forward Bonn Daja sidelined by a season-ending injury, the narrative surrounding the Junior Archers centered, once again, on patience and development during another rebuilding year.
Instead, DLSZ delivered a long-awaited breakthrough in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Under new head coach Gian Nazario — a longtime deputy to former mentor Boris Aldeguer for over 18 years — the Junior Archers completed a stunning turnaround. The team clinched a Final Four berth after outlasting the Adamson Baby Falcons, Wednesday afternoon at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Haunted by three consecutive sixth-place finishes in the UAAP’s post-pandemic era, this moment marked the program’s return to the Final Four for the first time since Season 79 in 2016.
A decade of waiting. A decade of near-misses. A decade of watching the likes of National University Nazareth School, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas, Adamson, and Far Eastern University-Diliman dominate — all culminating in the departures of Alas and Daja.
That made this breakthrough all the sweeter.
“Very sweet and very important. Overcoming those struggles, I think, made us even more motivated and determined to write a new story as a team that can finally return to the Final Four,” said Nazario, the lead deputy to Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Nazario, however, was quick to credit the true ‘architect’ of the program.
The first-year head coach emphasized that whatever success DLSZ is experiencing now is built on the foundation Aldeguer laid during his almost two-decade tenure—instilling discipline, developing a winning culture even during the down years, and recruiting top players.
In more ways than one, the Junior Archers’ return to the league’s postseason is not just a testament to perseverance in the face of adversity. It is also a tribute to continuity.
“It means a lot. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, just going here to the game, my emotions were really all over the place. To be in this situation again, na mabigyan kami ng opportunity to make it to the Final Four, it does not only mean a lot to me, but it also means a lot to Coach Boris,” Nazario shared.
“He was really the architect of this program, and just to be given the chance to handle the team for him and for the program of Zobel, it means a lot na nadala ko ulit yung school sa Final Four.”
After the high of a long-awaited return settles, Nazario insisted the job is far from over. DLSZ will face two consecutive tests to gauge their postseason readiness against UST and league-leader NUNS to close the elimination round.
“Yes, it means a lot, but at the end of the day, making the Final Four is one thing, but playing in the Final Four will be another story. We have to come prepared,” Nazario said.
“It will prepare us really well. I have a lot of respect for the coaches of UST and NUNS. Hindi dahil may opportunity na kami sa Final Four, we would lie down and die and bahala na. We would still play and come prepared.”
