There hasn’t been a repeat champion in the UAAP men’s basketball circuit since Season 82. The DLSU Green Archers aim to change that this Season 87.
After a five-year wait for the UAAP men's basketball crown, the De La Salle University Green Archers returned to the top of the pecking order last season after coming back to outclass new rivals UP Fighting Maroons in the Finals.
[ALSO READ: Kevin Quiambao, La Salle overcome UP to claim UAAP Season 86 title]
Once they tasted victory, it did not stop in the UAAP for the Green Archers.
A busy offseason saw DLSU take every opportunity to compete, get stronger, and of course… win.
From the PBA D-League and PinoyLiga Collegiate Cup, to as far as traveling to Japan and claiming the World University Basketball Series throne, the Green Archers just kept piling on the victories.
And with UAAP Season 87 about to roll on, the process to repeat begins anew as the Green Archers target the most precious championship they can win.
“Winning is a byproduct. We didn't really worry about getting the championship or the win. We just cared about getting better every single day and trusting in coach Topex [Robinson],” co-captain Michael Phillips said in an exclusive interview with One Sports.
“When it came down to those winning moments, all the things that we sowed, we ended up reaping.”
Phillips will now shoulder a bigger responsibility as one of the veteran leaders of DLSU, aiming to fill the void left by the likes of Evan Nelle, Mark Nonoy, and Francis Escandor.
But returning also is reigning UAAP men's basketball Most Valuable Player, champion, and Finals MVP Kevin Quiambao, who decided to postpone what should be a lucrative pro career to play at least one more year in Taft.
[ALSO READ: ANIMO PA RIN: Kevin Quiambao stays put with UAAP defending champion La Salle]
More than KQ and Phillips, it’s still a potent Green Archers lineup that include team captain Joshua David and CJ Austria, both coming back from that Season 86 championship-winning team.
[ALSO READ: UAAP Season 87 team preview: La Salle leans on proven system once more ahead of tough title defense]
For Phillips though, he is hoping to take part in the lessons he learned from the Green Archers’ previous leaders as he tries to steer the Season 87 squad into the championship direction.
“Coming into this leadership role, just kind of innovating those elements of Kuya Ben [Phillips], Kuya Joshua, Kuya Evan [Nelle], all those guys and trying to put it into one and try to make my own role here.”
Austria, meanwhile, is now taking the challenge of being DLSU’s top defensive player heading to Season 87.
“Kahit hindi ako makatulong sa points, makapag-stop lang ako ng mga main guys ng other teams, happy na ako sa ganoon.”
A loyal soldier to coach Topex Robinson, Austria feels this batch of the Green Archers are more intact and ready to play for one another, especially the seniors.
“Yung mga binibigay naman sakin ni coach Topes [Robinson] na role, ginagawa ko lang.”
“Yung team namin ngayon, mas buo na kasi sobrang tagal na namin magkakasama. Alam na namin [mga seniors] kung paano kami maglaro para sa isa’t-isa. Masasabi ko lang this coming Season 87, mas prepared kami, mas buo, and solid.”
Entering the next season as favorites to win it all again, can DLSU solidify its spot as the next UAAP dynasty?