DE La Salle finds itself undergoing a drastic major coaching change exactly three weeks before the 76th season of the UAAP gets underway.
Juno Sauler has been elevated as head coach of the Green Archers in lieu of Gee Abanilla, who guided the school to a Final Four stint in his first season with La Salle last year.
A high-ranking La Salle official confirmed the report to Spin.ph but refused to be named pending an official announcement to be made by the school on Monday.
Abanilla had a 10-6 record in his lone season for La Salle with Sauler and Jun Limpot a part of his coaching staff.
His sudden departure comes just after the Archers suffered successive losses to end their campaign in the preseason Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup on a disappointing note, including a quarterfinal setback at the hands of San Beda.
One of those losses was to rival Ateneo at the end of the eliminations.
But there are also speculations Abanilla's departure has something to do with an impending re-organization within Petron, where he serves as one of Olsen Racela's deputies.
Sauler, a former Green Archer who suited up for the Taft-based school during the nineties, is not that known in basketball circles but has gained respect within the San Miguel Corp. basketball organization for his excellent work as one of Alfrancis Chua's assistants at Barangay Ginebra.
The soft-spoken Sauler once served as head coach of La Salle's women's team.
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