MANILA, Philippines – The La Salle Green Archers are off to an impressive start in the UAAP’s return season.

Through the first week of action, La Salle has distinguished itself from its competition by marching to an undefeated 3-0 record, the only unbeaten team along with defending champion Ateneo, which shouldn’t come as a shocker to anybody.

“This was the game [of] positioning for us,” Green Archers head coach Derrick Pumaren said of his boys’ mindset after DLSU accomplished its most impressive win since his return to the university: a 75-65 triumph over longtime rival FEU, which was more tightly contested than the final score would suggest.

A veteran UAAP coach like Pumaren knows the significance of starting the elimination round with consecutive wins to strengthen his team’s opportunity of a twice-to-beat seed in the Final Four later on when seedings become more important. 

Given DLSU is a relatively new squad composed of a few holdovers from the pre-COVID days, transferees from other universities, and fresh recruits, their hot start is a confidence-booster for this new era of La Salle’s basketball program and culture.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done, particularly in the short term. Nevertheless, the feeling of optimism is strong.

There are two sides to the basketball court and more often than not, it requires execution from both ends to harness victories. While La Salle’s offense wasn’t inadequate in the Green Archers’ first two performances, it still left a lot to be desired, particularly shooting-wise. The defense, on the other hand, was impressive from the get-go, which was why they disposed of UE and NU. 

Not only is the patented Pumaren press back, but the Green Archers also have a solid half-court setup to limit opposing teams from getting easy scoring opportunities. That’s in large part due to the presence of multiple long-limbed rim protectors who are willing to deter every shot in the paint, switch and guard speedier players in the perimeter, and haul down as many rebounds as possible.

According to local basketball statistics analyst Ryan Alba, La Salle’s 81.9 defensive rating currently ranks first in the UAAP, the same for their 20.9 turnover percentage allowed number. Even if opponents avoid the self-inflicted mistakes against the Archers’ pressure defense, it’s still extra challenging to get good looks when setting a play, in part because of the remaining time on the shot clock after crossing half-court.

La Salle has forced opponents to 19 turnovers a game, which ranks second in the UAAP, and also ranks second in fouls committed per game, which shows they defend aggressively and physically but without gifting easy points to their adversaries. The discipline required from the players to do that is a mark of a coaching staff’s tutelage.

“I was hoping to be able to bring it today offensively, because we’ve been missing that. Only defense [kept] us close in the first two games, so this afternoon game (Thursday), we were able to do it on both ends,” Pumaren said.

After shooting only 10-of-38 from deep in their first two outings, the Archers knocked down 10-of-23 attempts against the Tamaraws. Mark Nonoy, the former UAAP Rookie of the Year with UST who’s now playing for La Salle, hit 5-of-8, including a pair of bankers. Justine Baltazar knocked down two himself in a superb overall performance.

The level of versatility in Baltazar’s play is thrilling to watch. He can hit open jumpers, create midrange shots off the dribble, score on hook shots in the paint, penetrate and finish creatively at the rim, and bring the ball down in transition. He’s averaging 15 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 0.7 blocks a game while shooting 43% from the field.

And that’s only on offense. 

Evan Nelle, another big-name transferee from San Beda, hasn’t found his shooting stroke in Season 84 yet. His team will need it, since Pumaren puts a lot of trust in him to be the lead ball-handler. It also shows there’s still potential to unlock for La Salle’s offense if his shooting prowess can be added to their arsenal.

While it was clear DLSU would have depth both in the frontcourt and backcourt, there were preseason questions about what kind of wing play they’d possess. There were thoughts that perhaps “Manong” Derrick would utilize plenty of 3-guard lineups including Nelle, Nonoy, and promising newcomer Deschon Winston, but he’s opted to keep at least one of them on the bench nearly in every minute they’ve played.

That’s thanks to the encouraging play of CJ Austria and Kurt Lojera. 

The former is usually at the right spots on the court, ready to provide what’s needed situationally for an offense that can sometimes look clunky. Austria is ready to pull-up from deep, attack in transition, cut when the defender isn’t looking, and even fight for offensive rebounds.

Lojera, formerly with Adamson before moving to DLSU, is the team’s best midrange threat. He’s also proven to be a reliable defender around the perimeter, using a good mix of size, strength, and speed to impede opponents, and can occasionally provide ball-handling duties, which is key from his position when facing pressure defenses.

“I think as one of the veterans, they expect me to do that, and especially Balti,” Lojera said over Zoom. “I have to back him up on every single possession, so that’s what where I get my confidence from.”

The defense is where DLSU has shone and that’s thanks in large part to the emergence of rookie Michael Phillips, who had an impressive 16-rebound (7 offensive) performance against FEU, which was outscored by 22 points in the time he was playing on the court. 

Michael’s long wingspan gives him a fighting chance to get every rebound and raises the level of difficulty for opposing players to shoot over his outstretched arms. He’s unpolished on offense but being close to the rim with that reach makes him a threat to score in the paint, even if it could require the occasional lucky bounce or two. 

With Phillips and Baltazar, DLSU’s twin tower combo is lethal when disrupting passing lanes, preventing guard penetration, and providing a roadblock to the rim. In a league like the UAAP where “let the players play” is understating the allowed physicality, those are critical qualities to have on your team.

“With Michael, we do a lot of teachings – even the veterans – to guide him on what to do,” Pumaren said. 

Pumaren claims that Michael, whose brother Benjamin also plays and contributes to the team, was once such a raw player that his head coach called his moves “useless.”

“He was using his energy in a wrong way,” Pumaren explained, “but throughout the guidance of the veterans and the teachings of the coaches, he was able to settle down and he now knows how to play to his potential.”

La Salle is in a unique position where they don’t need to rely on their foreign recruit, Bright Nwanko, to provide what’s usually asked of players in his position. At this point he’s priority No. 3 in the frontcourt depth chart. While the physical size and raw tools are there for him to be effective, he’s still going to need hours in both the weight room and practice court to hone his abilities.

If he somehow accelerates his development in time for the second round or Final Four, La Salle is only going to be more dangerous.

“Hopefully, we can use this as a springboard,” Pumaren said on Thursday. 

On Saturday, April 2, the longstanding rivalry of Eagles vs Archers will finally return. There’s no doubt that Ateneo, who leads the UAAP in offensive rating (106.1) and net margin (+21.1), will come in as the favorite. After all, there’s a legitimate case to be made that these Blue Eagles, who haven’t lost since 2018, are on the path to creating more history, which could very well include a second straight undefeated season.

“We know that they’re very well-coached and we know that they’re giving teams problems and hopefully we are able to solve that when we meet Ateneo,” Pumaren said. 

Will that manifest? It’s hard to say and even tougher to expect. 

But for the first time in a very long while, the  La Salle Green Archers finally seem like they’re on the right path. – Rappler.com