At the start of the season, not too many of the so-called experts and pundits gave the De La Salle University Green Archers much of a chance to make some noise in the 73rd season of the UAAP basketball wars. Now at 4-2 as of this writing though, the Green Archers are making a lot of those same experts look, well, pretty green. La Salle has seven rookies, four sophomores and less than a handful of veterans on their current roster. This is not the well-seasoned and powerhouse La Salle team of old that ran roughshod over the rest of the league.

That however did not stop new head coach Dindo Pumaren from getting the most of his guys. Simon Atkins, the 5-foot-7 pointguard, has emerged as the best player of the squad. He is their primary offensive weapon capable of nailing the long three-pointer, getting into the gut of opposing defenses with his dribble-penetration, and breaking out in transition either as the facilitator or the finisher. On the defensive end he has gotten very good at picking up opposing guards three-quarters court and jumping out at the perimeter in their halfcourt trap. “He (Atkins) is really stepping up for us, and he is showing his veteran leadership,” said Pumaren in one post-game interview. “We really need that because we have so many rookies and we are probably the youngest team in the league now. Good thing for us he responded to the challenge,” Pumaren added.

One other guy responding to the challenge is 6-foot-2 forward Joshua Webb. Webb will never endear himself to any opponent and opposing fan. His on-court intensity and heart however are beyond question. He has a knack for firing up the La Salle gallery with his flashy play and all-around hustle. Webb can still play recklessly at inopportune times, and still discombobulates his coaches by forcing the action in crucial game stretches. At the end of the day though, this is one homegrown star who fittingly deserves to be one of the top dogs on this unit. “You basically take the good and the bad with Joshua Webb. He can hit the game-winner for you as easily as he can fumble you to a bad loss,” observed one long-time UAAP pundit.

Other guys stepping up are 6-foot-2 swingman Joseph Marata and whip-quick 5-foot-7 pointguard Joel Tolentino, two former UP Integrated School and RP Youth Team mainstays. Marata hit all the crucial baskets in the blockbuster game against archrival Ateneo De Manila. He nailed back-to-back three-pointers perfectly squared up and with a hand in his face that turned the tide in favor of La Salle en route to the tough 66 – 63 victory. Tolentino on the other hand has been using his incredible speed to fuel the La Salle running game and to exploit mismatches. His heads-up play at the demanding 1 position is keeping the La Salle offense humming. He and Atkins were the key defensive duo that upended Ateneo, and recently did in Santo Tomas 61 – 51.

Speaking of that UST game, their emotional win over Ateneo and near-upset of frontrunner Far Eastern University in two overtimes seem to have given them renewed confidence. UST was supposed to be a tough game for them, but that match nearly turned into a full on rout. La Salle went up as much as 41-22 at one point and survived one or two anxious moments late in the fourth period before securing the victory. Clark Bautista looked set to literally shoot the Tigers to the win but the La Salle defense held. “Nararamdaman mo ang confidence ng La Salle especially after their FEU game, they just wanted this game,” observed one long-time UST supporter.

Long-time staples of La Salle basketball like the full court press, the halfcourt trap and the quick jump-and-trap on defense, and the run-and-gun and halfcourt motion on offense are steadily getting the desired results. Two newcomers of note who are thriving in this system are 5-foot-9 swingman Luigi De La Paz and 5-foot-9 guard Almond Vosotros. De La Paz, like Atkins and Webb, is already very familiar with this system since all three came from the La Salle Zobel high school program. Vosotros, basically spent two years in getting ready for UAAP college ball and his unique skill set is well-suited to the La Salle system. Vosotros was unable to play out his senior year of high school basketball with San Sebastian in the NCAA junior division because of his age, and then he spent another year on the La Salle B Team to further hone his game.

Up front, the La Salle big men have had their hands full, but they are never short on effort, and with the way the Archers swarm the ball side and jam passing lanes on defense, there isn’t that much pressure to have a dominating big man to block shots all the time like Rico Maeirhofer used to. Still, 6-foot-6 beanpole Yutien Andrada and 6-foot-6 former RP Youth Team center Philip Paredes have gotten in the face of a lot of opposing players with their height, length and leap. Paredes was once derided for being too soft to play the paint, and he had a tournament-high six blocks in a big win against University of the East. 6-foot-4 forward Maui Villanueva and 6-foot-4 center-forward Jovet Mendoza have provided opportunistic scoring and solid defense against opposing big men.

This leads now to the question: Can La Salle make the Final 4 and return to the UAAP Finals?

Making the Final 4 does not seem like such a lofty and far-off goal now. Confidence and esprit de corps seem to be at a high level. They’ve gone toe to toe against the supposed top two teams in the tournament, beating Ateneo and wringing FEU silly in two overtimes. Their three other victories have been pretty convincing especially against UE and University of the Philippines on opening weekend. Even their only other loss against National University was a close game that could have gone either way. Credit must go to Pumaren who has prepared very well for all of the teams he will face. Every game La Salle has played so far, the strategies and tactics have been well-practiced and well-executed. La Salle has not been outplayed or out-coached yet. A few more breaks here and there and they could easily be the unbeaten team and not FEU. “You’ve got to hand it to Dindo and his staff. They did their homework and they were able to prepare their boys very well for this season. May mga tinago sila nung offseason para ngayon na lang ilabas,” said one rival assistant coach.

If a journey of a thousand miles does indeed begin with a single step, La Salle looks set for their own thousand miles back to the UAAP Finals.