HE OFTEN looked stoic from the sidelines.
But perhaps it’s coach Juno Sauler’s serious demeanor that helped new UAAP men’s basketball champion La Salle keep its focus on the task at hand.
Sauler took over one of the most pressure-packed posts in the collegiate circles just 18 days before the season began.
So it’s certainly amazing how the 40-year-old rookie mentor transformed what was supposed to be just a transition year into a banner season.
Sauler even described as “comedy” his Archers’ first game against University of Santo Tomas in the season-opener last June, which they lost in overtime.
But of course, the Archers got the last laugh as they outlasted the Tigers in a do-or-die Game 3 overtime thriller, 71-69, to bag the championship Saturday in front of the biggest crowd the league has ever drawn.
“It has been a great learning experience not just for me but for the whole team,” said Sauler. “Lots of lessons were learned. Before the Finals, we watched our very first game against UST. I was laughing at how we played. It’s not how we play now. But how we started, it was comedy.”
Sauler often sat quietly on the bench, keen and composed, even overlooked at times due to the star power of his deputies—Allan Caidic, one of the country’s all-time best basketball players, and Jun Limpot, also a former PBA star.
“I just focus on the game,” said Sauler, who also works as a long-time deputy for Barangay Ginebra in the PBA.
“I never stressed winning to this team, never stressed getting the championship. It’s all about improving and getting better on a daily basis.”
And the Archers’ improvement was what Sauler still kept harping about even after hoisting this season’s biggest prize.
“You might be champions but if you didn’t do your best, that’s nothing to me,” said Sauler. “I’d rather be the best at what I do and not even be the champions, as long as I know that’s my true and best potential.”
Sauler did draw out the best from his Archers, led by Finals MVP Jeron Teng, Almond Vosotros, this season’s Mythical Team member Jason Perkins and Most Improved Player Arnold van Opstal.
That, and pulling off an unexpected title romp, finally got the stoic Sauler smiling.