There is so much mixed opinions on La Salle’s sudden head coaching change which happened a couple of weeks ago.
Before we start to question the move and begin to cast doubt on the new coach’s ability to stir the team to success, let us all be reminded that 5-time champion coach Franz Pumaren, recently retired from the PBA, was appointed as the Green Archers’ bench tactician a month before the start of the 1998 UAAP season.
Let’s give the new coaching staff a chance to show their stuff. Have some optimism here.
It’s also interesting to note that coach Juno was one of coach Franz’s assistants in his first year at the helm.
More on Coach Juno
“We’ll just go down to business right away. We can’t complain at this point that we only have three weeks, so we just have to do what we have to do.”
Sauler, who also suited up for the Archers in the early ’90s, steered the Lady Archers to three straight UAAP women’s basketball titles starting in 1999.
“It’s official already (that I am the team’s head coach). These things, like changes within the team’s players and the coaching staff as well, happen for a reason. Maybe I was here at the right time,” he added.
With a relatively compressed time to gear up for the upcoming UAAP Season 76 that fires off on June 29, Sauler is bent on making minor tweaking on the team’s system.
“Every coach has his own system. But with the UAAP set to start late this month, how much I can instill to the players will depend on how quick they’ll grasp my system. Kumbaga, iba-balanse ko na lang kung hanggang sa’n nila kaya,” he added.
Apart from further sharpening the team’s offensive weapons, newly-installed La Salle coach Juno Sauler is making his every available time espousing the value of discipline to his players – on and off the court.
Without proper discipline, the Archers, according to Sauler, will achieve nothing despite their potential of becoming one of the title contenders in the UAAP men’s basketball championship which opens shop on June 29.
“We’ll go nowhere if we don’t have the proper discipline in everything we do on the court. So for us to succeed, we have to discipline ourselves. Even off the court, we have to conduct ourselves in a La Sallian way,” said Sauler, who was tapped to handle La Salle after former head coach Gee Abanilla was recalled by his mother team, Petron Blaze, in the PBA.
WORKING on a small backcourt, newly-installed La Salle coach Juno Sauler sees one major weapon for the Green Archers to be competitive in the coming Season 76 of the UAAP – quickness.
“As long as we’re quicker then that’s okay. What’s hard is if we’re small and our opponents are quicker still. But if we’re quick, we’ll use that to our advantage,”
As for Coach Gee Abanilla, it was reported yesterday that he will be the next head coach of the Petron Blaze Boosters. If this is true, then this should already put a close to the issue and silence those various pundits.
Former Green Archer Ferdinand has earned a spot in the Indonesian national basketball team that will compete in this year’s SEA games. Ferdinand played for La Salle for 4 years and as a rookie was part of the 2007 UAAP championship team. He is following the footsteps of his former teammate Bader Malabes who is a member of the Bahrain national team that competed in the recent FIBA Asia championships.
Remember Gab Banal? He played 2 years for the Green Archers from 2009-2010 before moving over to Mapua. After a year with the Cardinals, the son of coach Joel Banal has reportedly returned to DLSU. Don’t expect him though to play again for the Archers as he will focus on finishing his IT degree while playing in the PBA D-League.
Congratulations to LA Revilla who just graduated last Saturday. He will be taking up his graduate studies and will be playing his final year for the Green Archers this season.
