DLSU captain Mike Phillips talks about the Green Archers’ star-studded dynamic.
If you were to associate the word “star-studded” with any UAAP school, chances are the DLSU Green Archers, specifically their UAAP Season 88 squad, would be a thought that would come to mind.
If you did think of the Green Archers, it’s for good reason; after all, just think of the names that they added at Taft Avenue. Even after Kevin Quiambao left the squad to turn pro in the Korean Basketball League, now wearing the Green and White are two dynamic guards in Jacob Cortez and Kean Baclaan, as well as a leaner, but meaner forward in Mason Amos.
In a different time, all of those players could have been stars with different teams. Cortez could have led the San Beda Red Lions to another NCAA title. Kean Balcaan would have continued to lead National University’s resurgence under Jeff Napa. Mason Amos would have been another project by Tab Baldwin as the Blue Eagles entered the inevitable transition phase.
Yet here we are, as all these names have opted to take aim for the Green Archers.
A Taft connection
When thinking about a stacked team such as La Salle, there will always be the concern of managing egos. Again, it’s important to think about who the Green Archers’ new guns were before transferring to Taft Avenue.
So how exactly does it work for them? For captain Mike Phillips, it’s a matter of establishing a “two-way street”.
“I’m just so grateful to God because…guys like what you said, the ‘superstars’ that we have in the team, they’re just so open. They’re so willing, they’re just so personable, and they just make our jobs as captains, our jobs as veterans so easy,” Phillips told The GAME in an exclusive interview during the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Basketball press conference last September 15.
“They’re just great guys to be with. You know? Take away the talent, and they’re still going to have such a big role in our team just because of just what they bring, right? So for me, they’ve given me, Earl [Abaddam], sila EJ [Gollena], sila Bright [Nwankwo] to lead them as best as they can.”
As shared by head coach Topex Robinson to The GAME in UAAP Season 87, the culture they are building in Taft Avenue is centered around “flattening the hierarchy” — meaning that there is no such thing as seniority for the Green Archers.
According to Robinson, coaches and players are treated in equal regard under his culture, with “team captain” and “head coach” being just mere titles in the Archers’ den.
“We kinda flatten the hierarchy, so ‘yun ‘yung talagang [culture] namin, even on my level, it’s really flat; I just happen to be the head coach, but everything has been flat, and ‘yun ‘yung lagi naming binabantayan,” Robinson said in November last year.
Motor Mike believes that this culture has been important to paving a two-way street, especially once Baclaan and company were added to the Archers’ quiver.
“There’s not really a hierarchy here, you know? We’re both trying to be iron sharpens iron,” he said. “I may be classified as the team captain, but the thing that I really wanted to emphasize with them is ‘I’m just like you guys’, I’m not perfect. I also have a lot of shortcomings because you can see my shortcomings, right?
“So that’s the thing, wag kayo matakot at wag kayo mahiya sabihin sa akin na ito ‘yung mali mo, ito ‘yung dapat mong gawin’. Nakakatulong talaga ‘yun because sometimes, we have that tunnel vision.”
Another important part of DLSU’s culture is being one’s brother’s keeper, and keeping an open line of communication is what helps this thrive, according to the Archers’ captain.
“We always try to watch and review everything together and reflect on everything together; not being scared to call each other out from a place of love because, you know? Two minds are able to see something,” he said.
So while it’s true that DLSU will have its share of established stars, Motor Mike will be the first to tell you that they are part of one happy family over in Taft Avenue.
“I think it’s beautiful, the culture that we’re trying to have. It’s a beautiful vibe and it’s very exciting.”
Banner images taken by Kieran Punay/KLIQ Inc.