Will it be the Archers’ year?

MANILA, Philippines - There are high expectations for La Salle to go all the way in the UAAP senior men’s basketball tournament this season with rookie Archers coach Aldin Ayo explaining the other day the pressure to win is motivation for the players, not something to be anxious about. In his book, preparation is key and Ayo has brought the Archers to a level where they’re ready to compete in every game, leaving it all on the court.

It’s not certain if La Salle deserves the team-to-beat tag that opponents like to stick on the Archers. Surely, winning the Filoil Flying V preseason title is no indication that La Salle will dominate the UAAP. For one, Ayo is new to the UAAP. Although he’s fresh from leading Letran to the NCAA crown, the battleground is entirely different in the UAAP where the stakes appear to be bigger with more media attention and more fan support. For another, the Archers are bringing in six newcomers, none of whom has experienced what playing in the UAAP seniors is like. In a recent practice game, NU trounced La Salle, 85-69, throwing the door to the championship wide open.

No team likes to play with a target on its back but if La Salle is the pick that seven other contenders want to bring down, Ayo said the Archers won’t back down from proving they deserve to be favored. Ayo, 38, is known as a no-frills coach who demands 100 percent effort from his players on the defensive end. He’s not as concerned about offense as he is about making stops and in the Archers scheme of things, defense is a priority. They’ll trap, press, congest and harass – anything to disrupt the opponent’s offensive flow. Ayo calls it mayhem basketball. The Archers call it a winning formula.

La Salle hasn’t won the UAAP title since coach Juno Sauler took the Archers to the 2013-14 throne. NU dethroned the Archers the next season and FEU claimed the trophy last year when La Salle failed to make it to the Final Four. The Archers were far from consistent last season, posting a 6-8 record and lost four of their last five games, including three in a row. In La Salle’s last game, the Archers could’ve salvaged a playoff for a Final Four ticket with a win over FEU but the Tamaraws wouldn’t oblige in hacking out a 71-68 decision. What was painful for La Salle was it was a no-bearing game for FEU and a loss wouldn’t have affected the Tamaraws’ standing.

Throughout last season, La Salle never beat either FEU or UST. The Archers dropped three games by three points or less, displaying an inability to close out under duress. They were No. 3 in most turnovers at 18.2 an outing, No. 7 in bench points and lost five of eight games where opponents hit more three-pointers. In six setbacks, La Salle missed more free throws than their margin of loss. The Archers flubbed 11 free throws in losing to UP by five, clanked seven in bowing to UST by two and blew nine in yielding to Adamson by one. Lack of focus was evident not only in poor free throw shooting but also in giving up an average of 23.8 free throws in eight losses.

When Ayo took over La Salle’s helm, his mindset was to transform the Archers into the league’s hardest-working team. His challenge to the players is to give it their all on the floor. Players can only rest on the bench, not on the court. That’s why this season, the Archers are lining up a full roster of 16. Ayo’s rotation will be critical in keeping fresh legs in the game to maintain a high level of intensity in the Archers defense.

Four Archers are graduating this season so Jeron Teng, Thomas Torres, Jason Perkins and Julian Sargent are determined to go out with a bang. Perkins and Sargent gained valuable experience in the PBA D-League, something they hope will go a long way in their final UAAP campaign. Holdovers are Kib Montalbo, Abu Tratter, Andrei Caracut, Jollo Go, Andrew Langston and Prince Rivero. The rookies are Ben Mbala, Aljun Melecio, Justin Baltazar, Mark Dyke, Ricci Rivero and Brent Paraiso.

Perkins will miss at least the first two weeks of the season to recover from a knee procedure while JBoy Gob will sit out the year due to an ACL injury. Mbala is the first foreigner La Salle has enlisted since Serbian Marko Batricevic played just a handful of games in 2008-09. The 21-year-old Cameroonian is a do-it-all player who’s expected to anchor La Salle’s interior. His mother Stephanie is flying in from Cameroon on Sunday for a two-week stay in what could be the first-ever visit by a parent of a foreign player in a local collegiate league.

Three of La Salle’s six rookies were bred on home grounds as Ricci Rivero came from Greenhills while Melecio and Paraiso from Zobel. They’re tipped to play in Ayo’s regular rotation along with Mbala, Baltazar and Dyke so depth is an area where La Salle has beefed up particularly as last season, the Archers were handicapped by a shallow bench.

Backing up Ayo are assistants Siot Tanquingcen and Louie Gonzalez with consultant Glenn Capacio whose experience is a huge asset. The staff also includes strength and conditioning coach Marlon Celis, scout and video editor Austin Beristain and team coordinating coach Paolo Sauler. How far La Salle will go this season depends on the Archers’ ability to play consistently within Ayo’s system of relentless defense.