MANILA, Philippines—For the first time in a decade, the De La Salle University Green Archers will have to make do without head coach Franz Pumaren.

Currently the longest-serving mentor in the UAAP, Pumaren will miss at least two games late in the second round of the men’s basketball competition to call the shots for the Nokia Philippine Youth Team.

“It will be a sacrifice; but it’s for the national interest,” said Pumaren, mentor of the 18-under national squad set to compete in the FIBA Asia Junior Men Championship in Tehran, Iran, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 5.

The international stint will hit the defending champion Archers’ scheduled clash against the University of Santo Tomas on Aug. 28 and Adamson University on Aug. 30.

Pumaren, though, hopes to make it back for the Archers’ second showdown against fierce rival Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles on Sept. 6, a day after the Iran closing ceremony.

“It will depend on how far we’ll go in Iran,” said Pumaren.

Jack Santiago will man the sidelines in Pumaren’s absence, along with fellow assistants Tyrone Bautista and Cholo Villanueva.

The Archers settled for a share of second place with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws at 5-2, a game behind the 6-1 record of the pacesetting Eagles at the end of the first round.

Pumaren has been shuttling between La Salle and the youth team since early this year.

Next week, Pumaren will also be juggling games in the UAAP and the Manila Youth Invitational, the four-nation tournament from Aug. 14 to 17 organized by the BAP-SBP as a final run-up to Iran.