All posts tagged De La Salle Green Archers

The View From the Armchair – Game 3 vs UP

By | July 25, 2011 | 11:03 pm |

Finally! A win, something which appeared to be a rare commodity given the poor start of the Archers to Season 74.

The struggling Green Archers finally broke into the win column, pounding UP on the boards en route to a much-needed 79-67 victory. With the win, the Archers climbed out of the cellar into a 4-way tie with UST, UP, and NU for 4th to 7th place.

Now there’s no chance of a perfect record for the green-and-white squad, which allowed some pessimistic supporters to breathe a sigh of relief, because they had privately entertained the horrible thought that with the consecutive losses and the way the Archers were playing, a clean slate was remotely possible.  No longer. Whew. Glad we got the ice breaker.

The win hopefully allowed the Archers to turn the corner, and should serve as a foundation for successful team play this year.

Dissecting the game that was

In contrast with the first 2 games, the Archers jumped on UP from the opening tip, raced to an early double digit lead at 19-9, sputtered for the rest of the first half, regained their bearings in the third quarter to erect a 20 point lead at 57-37, then coasted to a comfortable 12-point win.

Against the smaller Maroons, the DLSU coaches decided to exploit the height advantage of the Archer frontline, going to Van Opstal early, who responded with 9 first half points. Maui Villanueva and Yutien Andrada rekindled images of their successful interior play last year, combining for 17 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.  The taller Archers routed UP on the boards, 64-38.

This time around, the Archers spread the scoring load around, with 4 players notching double digit scores. LA Revilla, our diminutive point guard who averaged 20 points in our first 2 games, gladly scored only 9 points as he concentrated on ball distribution and quarterbacking our offense.

A caveat – although the game was almost a blowout, there are still several raw spots in the Archers’ game that must be addressed if they are to figure in the championship race this year. The hard-fighting Maroons never gave up, and found some pressure points that rattled our team, particularly in the final quarter before our players regained their composure to outlast UP. Read more…

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 74, UP Maroons

Green Archers crush Maroons for their first win this season

By | July 23, 2011 | 6:48 pm |

The Green Archers finally notched their first win of the season as they cruised to a 79-67 win over the UP Fighting Maroons today.

How it happened

The Archers controlled the match right from the start. The team took advantage of the Maroon’s lack of ceiling as they pounded it inside and dominated the boards. La Salle played aggressive defense all throughout as they rattled UP with their full court press. The early foul trouble on UP’s Alinko Mbah opened up room for our big men to dominate the paint.

Sophomore Luigi De la Paz led the Green Archers in scoring with 14 points, including 8 straight in the final period that silenced a mini-run by UP. Arnold Van Opstal and Oda Tampus had 13 points apiece while Yutien Andrada and La Revilla scored 11 and 9 points respectively.

Mike Silungan top scored for UP with 16 points.

Stat of the Game

The Archers outrebounded UP 64-38.

Next Game

La Salle hopes to carry the momentum from this win into Thursday as they face the National University Bulldogs.

Box Scores:

DLSU 79 – De la Paz 14, Van Opstal 13, Tampus 13, Andrada 11, Revilla 9, Atkins 7, Villanueva 6, Torres 4, Vosotros 2, Sara 0, Gotladera 0, Webb 0, Mendoza 0, Marata 0.

UP 67 – Silungan 16, Mbah 15, Manuel 13, Montecastro 11, Gomez 5, Juruena 4, Gamboa 3, Romero 0, Pascual 0, Maniego 0, Gingerich 0.

Quarters: 20-12; 36-29; 59-39; 79-67.

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 74, UP Maroons

Pregame: DLSU vs UP 7/23

By | July 21, 2011 | 1:00 pm |

La Salle hopes to finally enter the win column as they collide with the UP Fighting Maroons this Saturday. Game time is at 1PM.

The last time the Green Archers went 0-2 to start the season, they missed the Final 4. And if the team does not beef-up their field-goal percentage soon, we might see history repeating itself. In their first two games, they are shooting just 31% from the field. They are not going to win too many basketball games with that kind of stat.

All is not lost for the Green Archers. One thing missing in this team for the past two years was someone who has the guts to be the ‘take charge’ guy, someone that can be counted upon to consistently deliver on both ends of the floor. Based on the first two games, it appears LA Revilla is clearly becoming that player this team badly needs.

So far, LA has been the only consistent Archer, averaging 20 points and 4 assists per game. And with opponents expected to play tighter defense on him from now on, the other Archers have to step up and help on the offensive end.

The Fighting Maroons, coming in with a 1-1 record, will be led by Jett Manuel (17ppg), Mike Gamboa (14ppg) and Mike Silungan (10ppg). All three are perimeter players.

Another UP player worth mentioning is Gelo Montecastro. He is familiar to most of us since he played 3 years for the St. Benilde Blazers before transferring to Diliman. Montecastro is a big guard who loves to run on the break and slash his way through the lane. In their last game, he had 12 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.

UP’s frontline is not deep with only Alinko Mbah and probably Mark Juruena as their only legitimate big men in their rotation and both are not even a threat offensively. This weakness is something the Archers can capitalize on especially if Yutien returns from injury.

The Green Archers are expected to win here. If they can control the perimeter and assert their strength inside, they will be in good shape to get their first victory of the season.

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 74, UP Maroons

The View From the Armchair: Game 2 vs ADMU

By | July 17, 2011 | 11:44 pm |

Yet another one that got away. But this one got away early. For the second straight game, the Archers took an early lead in the first quarter, then allowed one of the crack guards of the opposing team to get hot, in so doing surrendering the initiative to Ateneo, to fall 72-81. This was the second consecutive 9-point loss of the Archers to begin their S74 campaign on a sour 0-2 note.

Kiefer Ravena got hot early, and almost single-handedly towed Ateneo to an 11-point lead at the half, which they extended to 19, threatening a blow out, before the Archers clawed back to within 5 before the veterans of Ateneo managed to create separation at the end.

Dissecting the game that was

For the second straight game, the Archers shot terribly from the field, hitting only 31.9% of their fg attempts, not much better than their 29.9% against FEU. They took 10 more attempts than their counterparts but made 5 less field goals. The Archers did manage to string together consecutive baskets off defensive stops in the last quarter to cut the lead to 70-75, but these were followed by consecutive misses which were forced the Archers to foul the ball handler to get possession. Unfortunately Monfort made the most of these foul throws to extend the lead and clinch the win.

The offensive futility was best exemplified by the obvious attempt by the coaches to establish Norbert Torres’ game. His game stats – 31 minutes, just 9 points, 6 rebounds (3 off, 3 def), 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, and he took 16 attempts, mostly from the outside, but sank only 3 of them. 0/5 from the 3point area. Interestingly, against FEU he was a bit more passive offensively, taking only 6 attempts and making 2. Simon Atkins also continued his exercise in offensive futility which started against FEU. He missed all 4 of his 3pointers, and made 1 out of his 2 field goal attempts from closer in. Atkins has only made 2 out of his 14 attempts from the field in the first 2 games.

The question is: how long will the coaches persist with a game plan when some players for whom the plays are called aren’t shooting well. It made sense when the shooter is Renren Ritualo, but Torres hasn’t reached that level of accuracy yet. His 16 attempts were almost a fourth of our 72 total tries from the field. In contrast, Sam Marata, our acknowledged sharpshooter, took only 8 attempts, made 1 of 2 of his treys and 2/6 from 2-point territory. Granted, Marata is a marked man, since most of the plays the team runs for him are already known to Ateneo and to all the other teams. This begs the question – how can Ateneo and the other teams free up their gunners on the outside, yet we can’t? Koreans are particularly good at setting up their shooters, so hopefully we would have been able to pick up something from the trips to Korea. It hasn’t shown up yet, though.

Other players were better in putting the ball in the basket. Luigi dela Paz made both of his 3point attempts but missed both his 2-point attempts. Only 4 attempts in 20 minutes. Wonder what might have happened if he had been set up a bit more? LA Revilla was the most effective Archer offensively, making 6 of his 10 attempts. However, as the primary pg in charge of ball distribution, it would be difficult for him to take most of the shots. Maybe he should sometimes take a leaf from RR Garcia and take it himself when his teammates can’t get it done.

Oda Tampus was a bright spot with his intensity both on offense and defense. He bodied up well on the opposing guards, and impeded their attempts to penetrate our perimeter. On offense, he was fearless, perhaps too much, but he kept trying, making 3/8 of his attempts in only 13 minutes to go with 4 rebounds, 2 of them offensive. Read more…

Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 74

Archers still winless as they fall to Eagles

By | July 16, 2011 | 11:21 pm |

The Green Archers are now 0-2 to start the season as they bowed down to the Blue Eagles 72-81.

How it happened

La Salle was successful in muscling Greg Slaughter away from his sweet spot. He was only able to register 7 markers, a far cry from his 23-point performance a week ago. The problem was that the Archers allowed Kiefer Ravena to have a field day in the first half where he scored all but 2 of his 24 points. Veterans Nico Salva and Kirk Long picked-up the offensive slack in the second half as the Eagles led by as much as 17 points in the 3rd period.

The Green Archers, led by LA Revilla staged a rally as they trimmed the lead to 5 points midway in the 4th period. Their defense forced Ateneo to a series of turnovers but their efforts to take the lead fell short due to several botched plays down the stretch.

It was gallant performance by Revilla  as he led the Archers with 22 points.

Stats of the Game

The Archers did very well from the foul line as they went 22 of 31 (71%). La Salle shot only 34.5% from the field as compared to Ateneo’s 52%.

Next Game

The Archers try to regroup as they battle the retooled UP Fighting Maroons next week. Though we are still in the early stages of the tournament, this game is already a “must-win” for the team.

Boxscores:

Ateneo 81 – Ravena 24, Salva 18, Monfort 10, Long 10, Slaughter 7, Golla 6, Tiongson 2, Gonzaga 2, Chua 2, Capacio 0, Sumalinog 0, Austria 0

De La Salle 72 – Revilla 22, Tampus 10, Torres 9, de la Paz 9, Marata 9, Van Opstal 5, Villanueva 4, Mendoza 2, Atkins 2, Sara 0, Gotladera 0, Vosotros 0, Paredes 0, Webb 0

Quarter scoring: 23-16, 41-30, 62-49, 81-72

Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 74

UAAP Season 74 Pregame: DLSU vs ADMU 7/16

By | July 15, 2011 | 10:21 am |

The Green Archers look to bounce back from a tough opening-day loss as they go up against defending champion Ateneo. Game time is at 3PM.

It’s all about stopping Greg Slaughter. The 7-footer was a beast down low in the Eagles’ first game against Adamson as he netted 23 points on 9-14 shooting. He will be Ateneo’s focal point on offense this season.

La Salle has a horde of agile bigmen that can rotate in defending Slaughter. The key is to prevent him from moving closer to the basket and force him to make a tough shot.

Other Blue Eagles that need to be contained are Nico Salva, Kirk Long, Emman Monfort and Kiefer Ravena. Expect Ravena to spring back from a disappointing senior’s debut where he failed to score a single point.

For the Archers to have a good chance in winning, they have to connect on their outside shots. The team needs a good shooting performance from LA, Simon, Sam and Luigi in order to contend in this game. Though La Salle shot a fair 62% from the charity stripe in their last game, they need to do even better tomorrow against a very good free-throw shooting team in Ateneo.

In an intense game such as this, every possession and point matters. The Archers remain the underdogs in this match-up but they are expected to go all out for the win tomorrow and avoid going 0-2 early in the season.

Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 74

The View From the Armchair – Game 1 vs FEU

By | July 11, 2011 | 6:51 pm |

Not a very good game. Not by a mile.

The Green Archers fell to FEU, 65-74, to start Season 74 on the wrong foot. It was a disappointing debut which highlighted the obvious experience gap between the Archers and the Tamaraws, last year’s runner-up.

The Archers started off strong, and led for most of the first half before FEU closed off the half strong to wrest the lead, which they kept for the majority of the game. FEU weathered La Salle’s high energy start, and made the necessary adjustments to take control of the tempo of the game. The second half was dominated by FEU behind a barrage of outside shots and crisp passing plays by Garcia, Cawaling, and Ramos. FEU created some separation with an 11-point lead and held the Archers at bay for the remainder of the game to coast to the win.

A good start fizzles out

The Archers fielded a tall team to start the game, with rookies Van Opstal and Torres manning the frontline together with Webb, and dela Paz and the comebacking Revilla as guards. The team actually raced off to a good start in the first quarter behind LA’s two field goals, leading FEU until the closing seconds of the quarter, before FEU managed to tie it at 18-all.

The first quarter saw our players rack up 10 early fouls to gift the Tams with 11 foul shots that allowed them to close the gap. More importantly, the majority of those early fouls were called on our frontliners. Torres, Van Opstal, and Mendoza had 2 each, and Andrada tallied 1. Their foul trouble limited the four to just 17 minutes in the first quarter, forced them to sit extended minutes for the remainder of the first half, and negated whatever height advantage we had. Compounding matters was the knee injury Andrada suffered in the second quarter, which forced him to the locker room and and raised fears that it could be serious. Fortunately, he returned to the game in the second half. Read more…

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, FEU Tamaraws, UAAP Season 74

Green Archers drop opener to FEU

By | July 10, 2011 | 9:26 pm |

With seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, Tamaraw RR Garcia received a kick-out pass from teammate Aldrech Ramos. The reigning MVP, however, had missed his last four shots in the quarter and had only scored four points. Without skipping a beat, he stepped way back into the professional three-point line, hoisted the shot, and watched as it splashed through the net, giving his team the lead for good.

What had initially seemed to be a long night for Garcia instead became one for the DLSU Green Archers, as Garcia poured in 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and, along with teammate and Rookie of the Year Terrence Romeo, sank six crucial free throws in the last 39 seconds as the Morayta-based Squad held on to beat the Archers, 74-65, earlier today at the Araneta Coliseum in the curtain-raiser for the 74th Season of the UAAP.

The Green Archers, who were led by returning point guard LA Revilla’s team-high 18 points along with five assists, came back from as much as 11 points late in the fourth quarter, as he and Luigi Dela Paz, who had 9 points, mounted a spirited 10-0 rally with about a minute remaining in the final canto, before Garcia and Romeo iced the game with their free throws.

It was actually La Salle who got on to a blistering start, with Revilla, Dela Paz and Joshua Webb taking turns in scoring to give the Green-and-White Squad an early 9-3 edge with 5: 53 remaining in the first quarter. But the Archers quickly reached the penalty as the Tamaraws, who were towed by Ramos, slowly crept back into the game to wrest the lead, 35-33, at the end of the first half.  Read more…

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, FEU Tamaraws, UAAP Season 74

UAAP Season 74 Pregame: DLSU vs FEU 7/10

By | July 9, 2011 | 8:25 am |

The Green Archers will start their UAAP campaign Sunday against the FEU Tamaraws. Game time is at 1PM.

La Salle is coming in with an intact core while bolstering their frontline with several highly-touted recruits. Simon Atkins, playing in his final season will again lead the team along with mainstays Spider Webb, Joseph Marata, Jovet Mendoza, Yutien Andrada and Luigi de la Paz. Other holdovers from last season are veteran Maui Villanueva and the sophomore crew of Almond Vosotros, Papot Paredes, Oda Tampus and Martin Reyes.

Norbert Torres, the Filipino-Canadian center will finally make his UAAP debut this season after doing residency for two years. He leads this year’s cast of newcomers which include Arnold Van Opstal, Ponso Gotladera and Dan Sara.

But perhaps the biggest addition to the Green Archers this season is the return of L.A. Revilla after a two-year absence due to health reasons. The cat-quick Revilla showed flashes of his old self in the preseason and expect him to be that take-charge type who will take the lead especially when the game in on the line.

For the Tamaraws, their frontline has been heavily decimated with the departure of Cervantes, Sanga and Noundou (injured). With only Ramos and Bringas (Mark) left, expect the Archers to assert themselves more in the paint. Of course, the biggest concern for La Salle will be stopping the high-scoring backcourt duo of RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo.

This game will be interesting. Last year, La Salle showed that they can effectively match-up well against the veteran-laden FEU squad. Though the Tamaraws are still slightly favored in this one, the Archers are expected to play all out tomorrow and try to gain momentum early in the season.

It is time to take away the “rebuilding” tag for this team. The Green Archers have already proven time and again that they can win against the top-ranked teams. With the experience and pieces they have now, they will contend this year as long as they show consistency on both ends and most importantly overcome their free-throw shooting woes.

The time is now! Go Archers!

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, FEU Tamaraws, UAAP Season 74

Green Archers look to disarm Chiefs for maiden win

By | April 24, 2011 | 9:10 pm |
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After a long rest, the Green Archers will lock horns with the Arellano University Chiefs this Monday at The Arena in San Juan, in a battle of teams still in the hunt for their first win in the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup.

The Green Archers last took the court last April 10 in a 79-70 loss at the hands of the UST Growling Tigers. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are coming off an 88-74 drubbing at the hands of the reigning NCAA titlists San Beda Red Lions.

The Archers will have to pile up as many victories as they can, including this assignment against the lowly Chiefs, to have a strong chance of making the quarterfinals, as their succeeding games will be against more formidable teams like the San Sebastian Stags and the Red Lions.

That’s not to say that the squad from Legarda can immediately be ticked-off as a big W for the Green-and-White Squad, as they have proven themselves to be capable of wielding the upset-axe after stunning the Stags during last year’s NCAA tournament.

Big men Jovet Mendoza and Norbert Torres, who are both coming off productive games against the Tigers, will try to carry the cudgels for the Archers, although it will be interesting to see mentor Dindo Pumaren shuffle his cards in search of a go-to-guy, and who among them will respond.

It will take a monumental collapse for the Archers to lose this game, as they have already routed a similar Arellano team a year ago, but throwing in a little caution wouldn’t hurt.

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, Fil-oil Flying V Invitational.
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