Archers, Tigers gear up for PCCL campaign

La Salle gears up for the coming Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) crown hoping to regain the fine form that the Archers flashed in clinching the UAAP crown last month.

“We’re not going to change anything in terms of what we did in the UAAP, but my main concern is how to get the players in good physical shape,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler.

The Archers, as UAAP champs, earned an outright Final Four berth, giving them a few more weeks to prepare for the tournament.

“It’s going to be very competitive,” Sauler said in a press conference Tuesday at ELJ Building in ABS-CBN. “Even if we’re in the Final Four, those are very tough teams.”

Sauler, who just came back from sports training camps in the US and Australia, said the Archers returned to training only last week.

University of Santo Tomas, which lost to the Archers in a thrilling UAAP Finals series, also aims to get back in shape soon before plunging into the tournament it ruled for the first time last year.

“We only started training today,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio.

The round-robin Final Four gets going on Dec. 9 at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan with four-time NCAA champion San Beda also earning an outright berth just like the Archers.

Read more...