With an almost intact lineup and an impressive set of rookies, all will agree that De La Salle University is still the heavy favorite to reclaim the crown.
And even the other UAAP coaches are in unison in saying that the Green Archers will be this season's team-to-beat, as evidenced in the UAAP Season 77 press conference Monday at Gloria Maris in Gateway, Cubao.
Even though Ateneo and UP, which are both out of the country for their preseason buildup, are absent in the gathering, the Green Archers' impressive resume is still the talk of the town one week before the UAAP season. And every ine's eyes are solely focused on the squad in green and white.
"La Salle will still be the favorites. I think they have a better line-up this season compared to last season," said FEU coach Nash Racela.
UE coach Derrick Pumaren added, "They still have the team that won the championship last year."
"Maganda yung lineup nila because they have Fil-foreigners and locals who blend well with each other's style," said UST coach Bong dela Cruz.
NU coach Eric Altamirano butted in, saying, "It's obvious that they are a team to beat because they have a good team and they have a good coach."
"Definitely, La Salle is going to be the barometer for this UAAP season," said Ateneo assistant coach Yuri Escueta.
And who could argue that claim? The squad only lost LA Revilla last year due to graduation and will be parading "class A" rookies in Julian Sargent, Abu Tratter, Terence Mustre, and Prince Rivero, to join the complete Green Archers core bannered by Jeron Teng, Almond Vosotros, and Arnold Van Opstal.
But for coach Juno Sauler, he said that all of these preseason fanfare means nothing if his team can't focus on its set goals this coming season.
"In my humble opinion, I don’t really focus too much on expectations and what the future is according to the opinions of others," he said. "Day-by-day, game-by-game, we need to get better. We need to do that in every practice and perform every game, that’s what's most important rather than expectations."
But for this season's commissioner Andy Jao, he sees an even playing field.
"I know the teams are very competitive. I looked at their line-ups and I've seen their games in the preseason. We've seen a lot of things in basketball wherein teams have improved as the season goes along. But pre-season is very much different than the real games," he said.
"To be perfectly honest, I really see very difficult competition. As matter of fact, I expect the game of La Salle and FEU, and NU and UST to be very tough," Jao said, talking about the main games in the opening weekend.
"You know the other teams, they're very tough teams," he said. "We have some of the better coaches in the country. We are appreciative of the fact that they’ve put their talents in this league and you know it’s the premier amateur league. Schools have really supported them."
The UAAP Season 77 kicks off on Saturday, July 12, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, with the opening ceremonies tipping off the festivities at 12:30 p.m.
Hosts UE will face off with UP in the curtain-raiser at 2 p.m., while defending champs La Salle try to open their back-to-back bid against the tough FEU squad at 4 p.m.
BALLS Channel will air same day replays of the games.
BALLS can be seen on SkyCable channel 34 or Destiny Cable channel 36.
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment