Rebuilding Green Archers: Silent waters run deep

MANILA, Philippines – No Ben Mbala. No Abu Tratter. No Prince and Ricci Rivero.

Just because the La Salle Green Archers are losing 51 points a game from that quartet, it doesn’t mean they will be easy pickings.

When La Salle parades their lineup for the 12th edition of the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup this Saturday against the UP Fighting Maroons, they’ll not only have a different look but also a different style of offense.

The players in uniform for the past UAAP season 80 include Andrei Caracut, Kib Montalbo, Aljun Melecio, Jollo Go, Gabe Capacio, Leonard Santillan and Justine Baltazar. The returnees to the lineup include Mark Dyke and JBoy Gob, who were not lined up for the past UAAP campaign. The rookies include Joaqui Manuel from Ateneo Senior High School, Miggy Corteza from Bacolod Tay Tung, Taane Samuel from New Zealand, Brandon Bates from Australia, Ian Herrera from La Salle Greenhills, Carlo Lim from Jubilee Christian High School, and Neil Tolentino from Letran.

The other high-profile change is the man at the helm — Louie Gonzales, who takes over from Aldin Ayo who is now with UST. Gonzales is the son of the late former basketball coach Cayetano “Tanny” Gonzales, who previously worked with current assistant Glenn Capacio over at Far Eastern University during the Mark Barroca-RR Garcia years, with Ayo over at KIA in the PBA to Letran and DLSU.

Gonzales is a student of the game who not only learned from all his stops but also with his constant reading and attending clinics. He is known to discuss strategy with fellow coaches online. His view of basketball is a total team game with emphasis on passing, assists, and playmaking for the whole team where everyone is a weapon.

Given the departure of La Salle’s high-profile stars for various reasons,especially the power-playing Mbala who alone attracted double or even triple teams, Gonzales has instituted a pass-first system where everyone is a weapon. While it seems that the bulk of the scoring will come from the backcourt and the wing, they are set up in such a way that they will get scoring from their tall and athletic frontcourt.

In a conversation with Gonzales recently, he said that he wants even his newcomers to be involved and not just simply be role players. Everyone here was chosen for a specific role with a mind to develop each and every player to their fullest potential.

La Salle will also have plenty of ceiling and rim protection in 6’7” Baltazar, 6’6” Gob, 6’8” Samuel and 6’9” Bates.

“We want to be tough to play and defend,” summed up Gonzales. “We’ll be coming in quiet. We’ll just let our play do the talking.”

The Green Archers face a stern test on the Filoil tiff’s opening day when they take on a talented and hungry University of the Philippines squad at 4:30 p.m. at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The brief opening ceremony is scheduled at 4 p.m. with Ateneo battling Gilas in the 6:30 p.m. nightcap.

The game will be televised over ESPN5 or Aksyon TV. Tickets to the tournament can be purchased at the gate of the venue.