UAAP archrivals De La Salle University and Ateneo collide in what is expected to be a close battle when the Green Archers make their debut in Season 3 of the Pinoyliga Next Man cUP against the Blue Eagles on Sunday (March 2) at the Enderun Colleges Gym in Taguig City.
La Salle takes on Ateneo (1-1) at 2 p.m. before Guang Ming College (3-0) and College of St. Benilde (2-0) clash at 4 p.m.
A day prior to that, the Blazers stake their unbeaten record of 2-0 when they face the Pirates of the Lyceum of the Philippines University (0-2) at 4 p.m., after the 2 p.m. encounter between Mapua (2-1) and San Sebastian (0-2) at the same venue.
After losing the UAAP title series last December in a heartbreaking defeat to University of the Philippines, the Archers are warming up early by playing in several pre-season meets including this annual tournament that gathers some of the best school teams in the country.
The thing which DLSU hopes to accomplish is to form a competitive team since four players are not returning next season, reason why the Next Man cUP is important for head coach Topex Robinson and his coaching staff to see the players they can move up from its pool to the main team.
“The Next Man cUP is one of our basketball avenues where we can evaluate our players, see our Team B and some Team A players what they need to improve on,” said DLSU assistant coach Oliver Bunyi, who will call the shots for La Salle in this tournament.
La Salle superstar Kevin Quiambao is not returning next season after opting to turn professional and play in Korea, although he is not the only one not coming back for the Archers as he is joined by Joshua David, Lian Ramiro and CJ Austria at the exit door.
However, the Green Archers have a deep pool of talent eager to join the squad, including guards Kean Baclaan and Joshua Cortez, as well as big men Mason Amos and Luis Pablo, who all made their respective residencies and are eligible to play in the next season of the UAAP.
All four transferred to DLSU after playing previously for other teams, Baclaan for National University, Amos for Ateneo, Pablo for UP, and Cortez for San Beda University.
Aside from that, DLSU has 6-foot-9 Filipino-American center Dominique Sarmiento, who Bunyi said they are monitoring the progress.
As for Ateneo, the team split its first two games in the Next Man cUP, losing to NCAA champion Mapua University, 100-53, last February 15, then came back with a 71-59 victory over New Era University last February 23.
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