De La Salle Green Archers


The De La Salle Green Archers are the men's varsity teams representing De La Salle University. The women's varsity teams are referred to as the De La Salle Lady Archers, DLSU Lady Booters and DLSU Lady Spikers. The school's varsity teams participate in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, among others. La Salle is represented in the high school level by De La Salle Zobel, and are known as the Zobel Junior Archers.

Athletic history

The pre-war NCAA was established by a very sports-minded De La Salle Brother named Br. John Lynam FSC. The De La Salle Green Archers were a founding member of the NCAA in 1924. La Salle participated in the league for 57 years until the 1980–81 NCAA Season winning five NCAA General Championships in the process. The high school counterpart were the Greenies from De La Salle College High School until 1968 when the then-high school in Taft Avenue, Manila was phased-out and transferred to the then-new Green Hills Ortigas Campus in Mandaluyong City. The Greenies had won two General Championships. La Salle Green Hills was established in 1959 and was eventually made the high school counterpart of De La Salle College. It inherited the moniker Greenies and eventually became known as the Junior Archers. LSGH won eight General Championships until 1981 when La Salle withdrew from the NCAA.
From 1981 through 1985 the school participated in the PICUAA, invitational meets, interclub tournaments, and the National Open. De La Salle University then joined the UAAP in 1986. La Salle chose the newly established De La Salle Santiago Zobel School as their UAAP Juniors counterpart. LSGH was later asked by De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde to compete as their juniors team in the NCAA when it applied and was accepted in 1998. Ever since joining the UAAP in 1986, DLSU has won three UAAP General Championships – Season 75, Season 76, and Season 78, giving the university a combined eight General Championship titles in the seniors' division in the NCAA and UAAP. Notable Lasallian athletes and alumni are inducted into the De La Salle Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame.

Sports

Basketball

La Salle has a total of 27 basketball championship titles in the NCAA and UAAP combined. Under its membership stint in the NCAA, La Salle won 11 championship titles – 5 under the men's division, and 6 under the juniors' division. In the UAAP, the school has 16 championship titles – 9 in the men's division, 5 in the women's division, and 2 in the juniors' division.

Men's basketball

La Salle has won five NCAA basketball titles. The Green Archers won the coveted National Seniors Open Championship, a league participated by top commercial and college teams, twice in 1939 and 1949. After bolting out of the NCAA in 1981, it participated in various tournaments. The Green Archers won the 1983 PABL Championship and 1983 National Open title. La Salle has won three inter-collegiate titles. The school won the 1988 Philippine Intercollegiate Championship. This was later reformatted to become the Collegiate Champions League, which then became the current Philippine Collegiate Championship League with La Salle winning the championship in 2008 and 2013. The tournament has the same format as the US NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball tournament. College teams from all over the country participate in this officially sanctioned tournament by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
The Green Archers have won nine UAAP basketball titles. La Salle is also known for its 4-peat UAAP championship from 1998 to 2001. One of its most memorable UAAP championships in recent years was the 2016 UAAP Season 79 title. Under head coach Aldin Ayo La Salle defeated Ateneo in Game One 67–65 and completed the sweep in Game Two 79–72 during the best-of-three series. The Green Archers also participate in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup where they have won four titles, the latest being the 2016 championship.
La Salle's basketball program has produced its crop of national players and coaches. Among its revered players include Enrique "Totit" Valles, Leo Prieto, Bob Keesey, Ramoncito Campos, Valentin "Tito" Eduque, Eddie Decena, Manolet Araneta, Martin Urra, Kurt Bachmann, Billy Manotoc, Mike Bilbao, Lim Eng Beng, Ricardo Brown, Franz Pumaren, Dindo Pumaren, Jun Limpot, Mark Telan, Don Allado, Ren-Ren Ritualo, Mike Cortez, Mark Cardona, Joseph Yeo, TY Tang, Pocholo Villanueva, Rico Maierhofer, JV Casio, LA Revilla, Almond Vosotros, Norbert Torres, Arnold Van Opstal, Jason Perkins, Jeron Teng, and Ben Mbala. Its great coaches have included Chito Calvo, Leo Prieto, Rogelio Lao, Tito Eduque, Ron Jacobs, Derrick Pumaren, Jong Uichico, Juno Sauler, Aldin Ayo, and Franz Pumaren who holds the distinction of leading the Green Archers to five UAAP basketball titles.
Notable players
1920s
1930s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
The women's team has previously duplicated the accomplishment of the men's team as 4-peat champions. They were UAAP title holders from 1999 through 2002. La Salle is the first and only school to date in the UAAP to be both men's and women's 3-peat champions in the UAAP in the same year. They accomplished this feat from 1999 through 2001.
The most recent championship of the Lady Archers was in UAAP Season 76 which they also won along with the men's team.

Football

La Salle has a total of 67 football championship titles in the NCAA and UAAP combined. Under its membership stint in the NCAA, La Salle won 51 championship titles – 21 under the men's division, and 30 under the juniors' division. In the UAAP, the school has 16 championship titles – 4 in the men's division, 11 in the women's division, and 1 in the juniors' division.

Men's football

Since the pre-war days, the school has an unprecedented record in the world's most popular sport. Football was also reported to be the most popular sport in the Philippines in the 1920s and 1930s and shortly after World War II. De La Salle has the most number of football championships in Philippine NCAA history with a total of 21 collegiate championships. The high school team has 30 championship trophies. The school's golden era of football was from 1932 through 1940 when La Salle was the Senior division NCAA 9-peat champion, considered by some to be a highly unbreakable record. The golden era featured Virgilio Lobregat, Rafael Ygoa, Totit Valles, Peping Campos, Ling Miranda, Mimi Heredia, Nono Crespo, Adi Manzano, Gorda de Larrazabal, Leo Prieto, Quinito Ortigas, Petuguis Herrera, Paulino Ugarte, Charlie Russel, Jiki Garcia, Jave Javellana, Bulilit Reyes, Richard Tillman, and Kastila Ynunciaga. La Salle was also the Senior division 6-peat champion from 1971 through 1977. The De La Salle NCAA Senior Champion Team during this 1971 to 1977 period had the likes of then concurrent Philippine Team National Players namely Inaki Vicente, Mike Moran, Danny Moran, Robs Delfino and Inaki Alvarez. The Juniors team was 5-peat champion twice from 1937 through 1941 and 1971 through 1976. The school was a 4-peat NCAA double champions in both Junior and Senior divisions from 1937 through 1940. La Salle was also 5-peat NCAA double champions in both Junior and Senior divisions from 1971 through 1976. DLSU left the NCAA after the 1980–81 Season and eventually transferred to the UAAP.
In the UAAP, the men's team has won 4 titles while the women's team has won 11 titles and were 4-peat champions from 2003 through 2006. The DLSU men's football team captured its first ever solo UAAP championship via a rare sweep in 1994–95. The team was bannered by national team mainstay and league MVP Tuteng Marasigan, Jay Pascual, Tats Ramos, Panky Abijay, Carlo Blanco, Teo Ocampo, JM Pons, Javi Manticon, Dennis Villanueva, rookie standouts Christian Lozano, and Albe Aparilla, and coached by Hans Smit.
As it was in the 1991–92 season, DLSU was declared joint UAAP champions with UST after a fight broke loose during the final minutes of the game with DLSU leading 2–1, both goals scored by Cocoy Rojas. This team was bannered by veterans Gerard Araw, Mon Sandejas, Sammy Mubarak, Marbon Gonzales, Gurpreet Samrow, Paolo Relucio, Carlo Manalo, Tuteng Marasigan together with the most talented rookie class headed by Tats Ramos, Cocoy Rojas, Javi Legarda, and Rufino Gutierrez.
In the 1993–94 season, La Salle lost to UST 4–0 in the championship game but most of the awards were garnered by the Green Archers led by their rookie sensation, Panky Abijay who was voted as the Best Scorer for that season scoring 17 goals in 10 games, followed by Tats Ramos as the Best Goalie and Tuteng Marasigan as the Best Midfielder. The following season, La Salle dethroned UST to win its second UAAP championship title.
In the 1995–96 UAAP season, the team however failed to defend its championship losing to Ateneo de Manila University in a loss in the Finals. Ateneo entered the Finals with a twice-to-beat advantage by topping the eliminations round. La Salle took Game 1 of the Finals series 2–1 to arrange the final showdown, but lost 2–1 to the Vince Santos-powered Ateneo team.
The following year, Coach Hans revamped the DLSU lineup and enhanced the team with several rookies and sophomores. The team included rookies William Paradies, Torto Canga, Jon Chua, Joey Mapa, Dave Javellana, Jun Sola, Peter Amores and Dodee Molina to complement holdovers Alvin Ocampo, Christian Lozano, Norman Azarcon, JM Pons, Owens Sun, Albe Aparilla, Byron Rempillo, Theo Zaragoza and LJ Villanueva. The team topped the eliminations round and this time had the twice-to-beat advantage in the rematch with Ateneo in the Finals. DLSU however did not allow the Finals to reach a 2nd game and recaptured the 1996–97 crown via a 2–1 victory, courtesy of goals by midfielders Norman Azarcon and Albe Aparilla.
With a near intact line-up and key additions such as the comebacking Francis Feliciano and Dennis Villanueva to anchor the defense and rookie goal keeper Ted Guinto, DLSU successfully defended its crown in the 1997–98 season and captured back-to-back championships. This year DLSU again took the twice-to-beat advantage leading into the Finals, however Ateneo took Game 1 via a 2–1 victory. DLSU however regrouped in time for the deciding match. Ateneo took the lead early via a header from Ramon Espejo in the first half and kept the 1–0 lead at halftime. The second half was a completely different story, with DLSU unleashing its true scoring form, taking 5 straight goals in the second half to take the title once again via a 5–1 hammering of its arch-rival. Alvin Ocampo and Christian Lozano took co-MVP honors.

Women's football

Volleyball

La Salle has a total of 42 volleyball championship titles in the NCAA and UAAP combined. Under its membership stint in the NCAA, La Salle won 12 championship titles – 4 under the men's division, 7 under the juniors' division and 1 under the women's division. In the UAAP, the school has 30 championship titles – 2 in the men's division, 11 in the women's division, 7 in the boys' division and 10 in the girls' division.

Men's volleyball

La Salle was 4-peat NCAA men's champions from Seasons 53 to 56. The Green Spikers were also UAAP men's champions in Seasons 64 and 66.

Women's volleyball

Beach volleyball

The Lady Green Spikers were crowned as the champions of the UAAP Season 78 Beach Volleyball tournament after defeating FEU in two finals games.

Softball

La Salle has 11 softball championship titles during their membership stint in the NCAA, having won 3 titles in the seniors' division and 8 titles in the juniors' division. The Green Archers won their first NCAA softball championship in 1974. The Junior Archers shared the same limelight as their Senior counterparts that same year. La Salle was back-to-back champion in 1976 and 1977.

Baseball

La Salle has a total of nine championship titles in UAAP Baseball. The men's team has won five titles, the latest being the UAAP Season 81 championship in 2019. In the juniors' division, La Salle have won four titles.

Tennis

La Salle has won a total of 29 tennis championship titles in the NCAA and UAAP. Since 1953 when the school won its first NCAA trophy, the men's team has won 14 titles, the last one being the 2012 UAAP championship. The women's team has won 6 titles since the introduction of the women's division in the 2001–2002 season. They were 3-peat champions from 2003 through 2005. In the 2004–2005 UAAP season, the Lady Archers capped their 3-year championship by defeating Ateneo in the finals. Coached by Roland Kraut the school paraded Catherine Flores, Sherry Ong, and Michelle Panis that season. In the juniors' division, La Salle won 9 NCAA championship titles.
The Green Archers were UAAP champions for the 2011–2012 season which is also the most recent and last title that the Archers were able to win. The Green Archers defeated the NU Bulldogs 3–2 in the finals and also completing a tournament sweep posting an 11–0 win-loss record. DLSU was led by MVP Michael Basco, UAAP Season 73 Rookie of the Year Alberto Villamor, and Ernesto Pantua who won the deciding singles.
The Lady Archers were UAAP champions for the 2009–2010 season. The Lady Archers defeated the UST Tigresses behind the efforts of MVP Trudy Amoranto, Martina Guba, Kristie Barraquias, and Rookie of the Year Regina Santiago. DLSU repeated in the 2010–2011 season and Santiago was named Most Valuable Player.
In the 2012–2013 season, DLSU regained the crown from UST as the Lady Archers led by Martina Guba in the deciding singles to hammer out a 7–5, 6–0 victory, over Tigresses rookie Lenelyn Milo, which completed their bid for a sixth overall title. Reggie Santiago set the tone for the Lady Archers with a 6–3, 6–1 thumping of Len-len Santos in the opening singles, and Santiago was adjudged as the tournament MVP anew on her final year. Rookie of the Year winner Marinel Rudas beat Macy Gonzales, 6–1, 6–3, in the second singles for La Salle to regain the upper hand.

Table tennis

La Salle has a total of 15 championship titles in UAAP Table Tennis. In the seniors' division, La Salle has 11 table tennis championships. In the men's division the school took home the trophy in 1997 courtesy of Noel Paulo Pasaporte and Ernesto Ebuen III and its most recent championship being 2015. The Green Paddlers were 3-peat champions from 2013 to 2015. In the women's division La Salle first won the title in 2004 and were 4-peat champions from 2014 to 2017. In the juniors' division, La Salle won a double championship in UAAP Season 78 and UAAP Season 82.
Ian Lariba led the Lady Paddlers to multiple UAAP titles taking home multiple MVPs. She competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the Philippine Olympic Team flag bearer. In April 2019, Lariba's jersey was retired and raised to the La Salle rafters at the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center, the first time that DLSU retired a jersey of an athlete from a non-team sport.

Badminton

La Salle has a total of six championship titles in collegiate badminton. The men's badminton team captured the school's only UAAP title in 2007. The women's badminton team were title holders in 2002 and back-to-back champions in 2004 and 2005. They secured their fourth championship in the 2009–2010 season behind the efforts of MVP Desca Calimlim, and their fifth championship in the 2017–2018 season.

Swimming

La Salle has a total of 29 swimming championship titles in the NCAA and UAAP. In the seniors' division, La Salle has won 12 men's titles and 4 women's titles. The school won its first title in 1935 and the last title in 2009. The men's team were twice 3-peat champions and back to back champions. The women's team were back to back champions in 2002 and 2003. La Salle had swimming champions in the 1930s featuring the Von Giese brothers. The legendary Eric Buhain was an accomplished swimmer at an early age. He was a multiple gold medalist in the 1985, 1991, and 1993 SEA Games. He represented the Philippines in the 1992 Summer Olympics. The school's most recent accomplished swimmer is actor and model Enchong Dee. He led the Green Archers to the 2009–2010 UAAP title in the process winning 7 gold medals in the 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle, 200 and 400 meter individual medley, as well as 50, 100, and 200 meter butterfly. He is also 3-time UAAP MVP. Dee was also in the Philippine national swimming team in the Asian Games. Also its current notable swimmer is Johansen Aguilar who broke a Philippine record in the 2010 UAAP season in the 50 meter backstroke event and following the footsteps of Enchong Dee also took the title of men's MVP 3 years in a row. In the juniors' division, La Salle has won 9 NCAA titles and 4 UAAP titles.

Track and field

La Salle has won a total of 27 track and field championship titles in the NCAA and UAAP. Since the early days of the NCAA through the UAAP La Salle has had the distinction of winning 13 men's track and field collegiate titles. The golden era was from 1972 through 1978 when the school was 7-peat champion. During that run, Arthur Pons, the legendary Philippine Decathlon champion was also a member of the 1972–1973 track teams. The last title came in 2004. In the juniors' division, La Salle won 14 titles in the NCAA.

Taekwondo

La Salle has a total of nine championship titles in UAAP Taekwondo. The men's Taekwondo team have won four titles – 1998, 1999, 2011, and 2013. The women's Taekwondo team have won five titles – 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2012. Stephen Fernandez won the Taekwondo bronze medal during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Judo

The men's team won their first UAAP Judo title in 1992. In 2013, the women's team won their first championship and ended the school's 21-year title drought.
Notable Players
La Salle has a total of 20 championship titles in chess. In the seniors' division, La Salle has won seven men's titles and nine women's titles. The school holds the longest winning streak in UAAP Chess Championship history. La Salle was men's UAAP Chess 6-peat champions from 1999 through 2004. John Paul Gomez was Grandmaster in the 2008 World Chess Olympiad. Gomez won five MVP awards for chess and was also the 2009 UAAP Athlete of the Year. The women's team were 4-peat champions from UAAP Seasons 73 to 76. In the juniors' division, La Salle were NCAA 4-peat champions from 1977 through 1980.

Seniors division

Presently, De La Salle University has won 182 collegiate championships in the men's and women's divisions combined. This includes championships while competing in the NCAA from 1924 through 1981 and UAAP from 1986 through the present. La Salle has also won a total of eight General Championship titles, having won five in the NCAA and three in the UAAP. In the seniors' division, the school has a rich legacy in basketball, chess, football/soccer, swimming, track and field, tennis, table tennis, and volleyball.
The men's basketball team were 4-peat champions, chess team 6-peat champions, football/soccer team 9-peat champions, swimming team twice 3-peat champions, track and field team 7-peat champions, tennis team 3-peat champions, table tennis team 3-peat champions, and volleyball team 4-peat champions.
The university became co-educational in 1973. The women's basketball team were 4-peat champions, chess team 4-peat champions, football/soccer team 4-peat champions, tennis team 3-peat champions, table tennis team 4-peat champions and volleyball team thrice 3-peat champions. The De La Salle men's and women's basketball teams are the first and only 3-peat basketball champions in the same period in the Final Four era of the UAAP. The school has yet to win a championship in cheerdance and fencing.

Men's sports

The junior teams representing La Salle have won 119 high school championships including 10 NCAA General Championship titles. The first two General Championships were won by DLSC High School and the other eight were won by La Salle Green Hills. During their membership stint in the NCAA, La Salle's juniors team was represented first by DLSC High School from 1924 to 1968, followed by La Salle Green Hills from 1969 to 1981 when La Salle withdrew from the league. Presently in the UAAP, La Salle is represented by De La Salle-Santiago Zobel School ever since it was admitted into the league in 1986.

Boys’ sports

The main sports facility of De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila is the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center. It is a ten-storey neoclassical building. This large and modern complex houses an Olympic-sized pool and track and field oval with balcony. It has basketball and volleyball courts. It also has table tennis courts, a dance and martial arts studio, and weight training rooms. The lower floors house a sports clinic, canteen, and bookstore. The facility also displays the championship banners and retired jerseys of notable athletes.

Rivalry with Ateneo

Rivalry with UST