After all, among all of the line-ups in the UAAP, La Salle had the only intact line-up aside from a UE team that has been struggling to make it to the Final Four. Plus, they have (arguably) the best player in the country right now in Ben Mbala, plus (arguably) the best local player in the UAAP right now in Jeron Teng.
Who could stop these Green Archers? Just chalk up the championship for La Salle. It's a sure thing for them to win anyway.
If anything, today's clash against the FEU Tamaraws taught us that the La Salle Green Archers are still a work in progress amidst their perceived dominance.
The game started out with La Salle struggling to initiate their mayhem press. It wasn't a matter of FEU breaking the press, La Salle just couldn't implement it in the way that they did during the preseason, usually forcing teams to commit a multitude of turnovers in an instant.
This changed in an instant when the second half came, with La Salle racing to a 16 point lead during the middle of the third quarter. This was the La Salle Green Archers that we expected to see. A team that would choke teams with their defense, which would then lead to easy baskets.
They were already choking FEU to submission during the first half by utilizing a rather soft press. Come the second half? They were aiming for the kill. It didn't help the cause of the Tamaraws also that they were relying on one on one plays to try and manufacture points. All good for the Green Archers already right?'
Not exactly.
What the Tamaraws did was they adjusted by responding with their very own version of a press, and this stifled the Green Archers. Multiple turnovers were committed by FEU, and unlike the first half where they were struggling to score off turnovers, the Morayta based squad learned from their mistakes and scored off fastbreaks. La Salle would still force FEU to give up the ball, but their carelessness on the offensive end led to some ugly sequences off fastbreaks.
The same story followed for the rest of the fourth quarter. La Salle would try to manufacture baskets courtesy of their press, and at times when they would succeed, they would throw away the opportunities given to them. So how exactly did the Green Archers win against the FEU Tamaraws 83-78?
Simple. They were the more talented team.
A couple of Ben Mbala offensive rebounds there and Jeron Teng isolation drives, the Green Archers did enough to subdue the Tamaraws to grab win number one.
Was it a good win? Objectively speaking, a win is still a win. Any victory you get should be counted as something good. But subjectively speaking? It was a rather disappointing debut by La Salle.
They committed a whopping 27 turnovers against the 17 of FEU. The goal of playing a pressure defense is for you to force the opposing team into turnovers. 17 turnovers is a high amount, but 27 i far worse. The pace of the game forced by La Salle actually played AGAINST them instead of for them. This wasn't the only thing which played against the Green Archers.
La Salle's offense was rather stagnant and slow as opposed to the fast pace which they were playing. Ideally, a fast paced offense should lead to easier looks and better passes. Instead, La Salle only dished out 9 assists versus the 15 of FEU. We can give credit to FEU for their tight defense, but most of it was because of the stagnant offense which the Green Archers had. The big men were limited to being used for pick and rolls, poorly set-up post-ups and offensive rebounds, while the players in the wings had no movement to free themselves up for easy baskets. It was already mentioned by TJ Manotoc during the telecast. Prince Rivero didn't have much opportunities to score off cuts and putbacks. This was no thanks to the poor offensive movement which DLSU had against the Tamaraws.
La Salle may have won this game, but that doesn't mean they should hold their horses and be satisfied. They still have a long way to go before they reach the "invincible" tag most people have placed on them. The reality of it is right now, the Green Archers are far from invincible. A couple of FEU three pointers there, and we could very well be talking about an FEU upset instead of a DLSU squeaker.
They won today because of talent. If you want to win a championship, you have to have talent AND discipline. The Green Archers are a work in progress. Once they're able to grasp that discipline needed in running their offense, we may very well see them raising the UAAP championship trophy by the end of this season in dominant fashion.
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