Playing extremely well under a new coach and despite being orphaned by two of its stars, De La Salle seeks a fifth straight win in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup Friday when the Green Archers battle University of the East.
Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m. at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan with La Salle again hoping to ride its new core of Taane Samuel, Brandon Bates, and Miggy Corteza using the system of Louie Gonzales.
The Archers lost standouts Ricci and Prince Rivero in the offseason.
Kib Montalbo, Andrei Caracut and Justin Baltazar are the notable holdovers of the team that finished second to Ateneo in last year’s UAAP, but the Archers are showing this early that they are again willing and able to make another go at the crown come September when Season 81 opens.
The Blue Eagles and the Mapua Cardinals are also undefeated like the Archers in Group A.
Alvin Pasaol and Philip Manalang will be the main guns of the Warriors, who will be trying to bounce back from a 63-61 loss at the hands of the Gilas Cadets Tuesday.
The Warriors lost an 11-point lead in the dying minutes against the Cadets, a collapse they would have to address as UE also hopes to take bigger strides in the coming UAAP.
Adamson and Letran, meanwhile, hope to get back on the winning track when they tangle with separate foes.
The Knights slug it out with skidding Jose Rizal University in the 12:30 p.m. game, while the Falcons mix it up with Arellano in the 2:15 p.m. contest.
The last Senior game on tap is the Far Eastern-University of Santo Tomas clash at 6:30 p.m., with the Growling Tigers coming in fresh from a fight-marred loss to College of St. Benilde.
UST will continue to be without center Steve Akomo and forward Embons Bonleon because of academic concerns.
However, coach Aldin Ayo, who took over from the dismissed Boy Sablan, expects the duo to return and join the team in their future games here.
Far Eastern is fresh from a dominating performance against the Falcons where all of coach Olsen Racela’s players scored.