The De La Salle Green Archers’ preseason officially ended two weeks ago and their UAAP campaign is set to get underway this July 10 against UP. Before we start on the team’s prospects in the upcoming UAAP, let’s take a look at how the team performed in the last Fil-Oil Flying V Invitationals.

The team started the tournament on a high note, notching two straight wins against Letran and EAC. After their first loss to a much-improved UP team, the Archers stunned Ateneo before heading off to Chicago for a two-week training. Things got ugly upon their return as they absorbed consecutive blowout defeats at the hands of Perpetual and San Beda. La Salle thrashed Arellano to nail the last quarterfinal berth before bowing to eventual champion San Sebastian in the knockout playoffs. They ended their preseason with a 4-4 slate.

Using the grade-point system, we made our own assessment on the team’s preseason based on several categories.

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With San Beda’s 100-76 win over Perpetual today, the De La Salle Green Archers advance to the quarterfinals of the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason tournament. They will face current NCAA champion San Sebastian Stags this Wednesday at 6pm in a knock-out match for a slot in the semis.

Here are some more highlights from yesterday’s game:

Ferdinand’s asserting himself inside. Yes, he had a few miscues, but it wasn’t for lack of aggressiveness. He even had a chirpy session with an opposing big, and was called for an unsportsmanlike foul after being bumped and trash talked while walking back after one of our baskets. He’s not going to back down against anyone. I liked his willingness to attack inside, and his newly found ambidextrous form which allows him to take a hook or floater using either hand. And he’s always a threat when we take foul shots and miss (a common occurrence), because he’s quick enough to track down the carom for a putback. Just a little more discretion on what moves to make, and he’ll be a force in the paint for us.

Simon, when he’s on, is a threat from the long court, and his heads-up play allows him to create a break after a rebound, spotting teammates sprinting for our basket and getting it to them in the optimum position to score. Coach Dindo is utilizing him more and more as a 2 or 3 together with Tolentino, Vosotros, Elorde, and de la Paz, and this gives the team a lot of flexibility and speed, and gives our press that much needed quickness. We saw how effective the press could be with this quick lineup. Simon’s improved decision-making and on-court judgment might position him to be the much-needed leader of the team this year, if he keeps it up.

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DLSU experienced another blowout today. But unlike their previous two games, it’s their turn to be on the winning end. Capitalizing on their quickness and pressure defense, the Green Archers proved that their arrows were sharper than those of the Chiefs of Arellano University.

With their 89-60 victory La Salle has already one foot in the quarterfinals in the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason tournament. They await the outcome of the San Beda-Perpetual game tomorrow. Barring any upsets, the Red Lions should win here thus giving the Archers a ticket to the quarters. An Altas’ win will tie them with the Archers but it will be them who will advance to the next round by virtue of the win-over-the-other tiebreaker.

The Green Archers’ execution of the full-court press was excellent today, forcing a lot of turnovers thus resulting to numerous fast break plays. The Chiefs simply crumbled after starting the game strong while our boys played loose today just like their game against EAC.

After letting Arellano take a 1-8 lead, the Archers turned on the heat with the familiar full-court press forcing turnovers to regain the lead at 10-8, which they never relinquished. The nightmare press was effective all game long, forcing consecutive turnovers for easy points that allowed the lead to balloon to 22 at the half.

Unlike in previous games, the Archers finally started hitting from the long court, with Atkins hitting 3 treys on quick catch-and-shoot plays. The Archers also dominated the paint, with Mendoza, Ferdinand, and Andrada scoring in the shaded lane and together with Paredes blocking or altering the shots of the Chiefs.  The wide-open game allowed Tampus to showcase his penetration skills, picking the pockets of the Chiefs’ guards before driving to score on contested layups.

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