MANILA, Philippines – New DLSU Green Archers head coach Aldin Ayo is excited to begin the UAAP Season 79 men’s basketball season and is confident about his team’s potential, but warns that the road to winning the league title will not be an easy one.
“I’m excited because we’ve been practicing for the past 8 months, 9 months, and finally we’re going to play, and we’re going to apply everything that we have practiced,” he said to Rappler during the league’s press conference on Tuesday, August 30.
La Salle is considered the favorite because of the roster’s depth and arrival of Cameroonian big man Ben Mbala. The Green Archers also went an undefeated 10-0 and won the championship in the Filoil preseason tournament.
“We are confident, but we know also that all the teams have been preparing well,” said Ayo, who last year led Letran to its first NCAA title in a decade. “This is competition, so for sure they’re going to challenge us, and we know that this is not going to be easy.”
Some have predicted DLSU may go an undefeated 14-0 in the elimination round because of the talent in its roster. MVP candidate Jeron Teng and starting point guard Thomas Torres are returning for their final seasons, and so are Julian Sargent and Jason Perkins.
During the UAAP’s press conference, it was announced a team who sweeps the eliminations will no longer be granted a thrice-to-beat advantage in the championship round, making the prospect of going 14-0 less beneficiary.
But for Ayo, going unbeaten throughout the elimination round is not on his team’s mind.
“I have no comment regarding that, because that’s too much if you expect to sweep the elimination. So we’re going to take it one game at a time, but we’re not thinking of that.”
Ayo makes his La Salle coaching debut on Wednesday, September 7, when the Green Archers take on the FEU Tamaraws at the Mall of Asia Arena. FEU swept DLSU in their season series last year, and has won 6 of its last 7 matchups against La Salle.
During a recent tune-up game between both teams, the physicality reached to a point where the game had to be abruptly ended in the third quarter. Ayo also said during the press conference that FEU, which is the defending champion, is the title favorite entering the season.
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“For me it’s FEU, because they are the defending champions and for sure they’ve been preparing for us. It’s very evident during that tune-up game that they really want to send a message to us,” he said.
“They are really going to challenge us. But for us, for sure everybody’s going to challenge us.”
On the upcoming UAAP debut of Mbala, which has been 3 years in the making, Ayo had nothing but complimentary words to say about his starting big man.
“I believe he’s one of the most dominant big men that the league has today, so for me, it’s a luxury, because this is my first time to handle a team that has a dominant big man. Thing is, Ben is a very responsible guy, very responsible player, and his priority is to win the championship, not for personal awards or anything. His main focus is to give La Salle a championship.” – Rappler.com