Sauler begins tough work with Archers

TIME isn’t on his side, so new La Salle coach Juno Sauler has buckled down to work just 18 days before the UAAP men’s basketball tournament fires off at Mall of Asia Arena.

“I talked to the team already and there’s no need for long talk and speeches on what to expect,” Sauler told the Inquirer yesterday.

“We’ll just go down to business right away. We can’t complain at this point that we only have three weeks, so we just have to do what we have to do.”

In a surprise move last Saturday, La Salle announced the appointment of  Sauler as replacement for coach Gee Abanilla, who was supposedly recalled by his PBA team Petron Blaze, where he also serves as deputy to Olsen Racela.

“There will be continuity because it’s hard to change everything,” said Sauler, who served as an assistant to Abanilla.

“We have to choose and prioritize what needs to be changed. If the players won’t be able to adjust in those three weeks, then we’ll just go with whatever the players can accept and grasp.”

The 40-year-old Sauler will start practice with the Green Archers today, a week after the team unceremoniously bowed out in the quarterfinals of the Filoil preseason tournament.

The Archers also lost to terribly undermanned arch rival Ateneo Blue Eagles on the way to the knockout stages.

“We want to make sure the players understand what we need to do,” said Sauler, who will be assisted by former PBA stars Allan Caidic and Jun Limpot.

Sauler, who also suited up for the Archers in the early ’90s, steered the Lady Archers to three straight UAAP women’s basketball titles starting in 1999.

“I’ve talked to the players and whatever the team goal is, that’s the priority,” said Sauler.

The Archers, who finished fourth last season, will be led by Jeron Teng anew when they start their bid versus last year’s runner-up University of Santo Tomas in the 4 p.m. game on June 29.