WILL Cholo Villanueva finally be handed the reins to the La Salle Green Archers?
La Salle is opting to no longer renew the contract of Derick Pumaren at the end of the year and Spin.ph sources learned that Villanueva, the Lady Archers mentor, has been approached to be part of the men's program, either as its head coach or on a different capacity.
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The Green Archers missed out on the Final Four in UAAP Season 85.
A former La Salle player who won a UAAP championship and claimed co-Finals MVP in in 2007, Villanueva has served as a deputy for Franz Pumaren at La Salle and to Vergel Meneses at Jose Rizal University.
He also handled teams in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Filbasket, and just this past season, led the Lady Archers in ending the National University Lady Bulldogs win run at 108. La Salle ended up second to the NU.

He also works as an assistant to guest team Bay Area Dragons in the PBA.
La Salle certainly is driven to bounce back after injuries plagued its UAAP Season 85 campaign.
After ruling the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup, one by one, the players among them Schonny Winston, Michael Phillips, and Kevin Quiambao, all missed games which left a big dent to their run.
Though the Green Archers ended up with a 7-7 win-loss record, they fell to the Adamson Soaring Falcons in the playoff for the last semifinal berth.
This also spells the end for Pumaren's homecoming in Taft as he only had two seasons to boot after getting the call back during the pandemic.
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