The De La Salle Green Archers are the collegiate men's basketball team of De La Salle University, which play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), a collegiate athletic league composed of major universities in the Philippines.
History La Salle was a pre-war founding member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1924. La Salle participated in the NCAA for 57 years from 1924 to 1981. The La Salle basketball players were first referred to as the Green Archers during the basketball games of NCAA Season 16 (1939–40), where La Salle made its way to the finals and won against their eventual archrival Ateneo in an upset for its first basketball championship title in the seniors' division of the NCAA. Accordingly, the news reporters who were covering La Salle games at that time coined the team the "Green Archers" due in part to the La Salle players' accurate shooting skills.
La Salle won five NCAA basketball titles – 1939, 1947, 1956, 1971, and 1974. The Green Archers won the coveted National Seniors Open Championship, a league participated by top commercial and college teams, twice in 1939 and 1949.– National Open Seniors Champion NCAA 25th Anniversary Souvenir Program, San Juan, Rizal: JCP Publishing, 1949 In September 1980, La Salle announced its decision to leave the NCAA in a press conference effective after the then ongoing 1980–81 NCAA Season due to a violent basketball game against their archrivals at the time, the Letran Knights.
After bolting out of the NCAA in 1981, the team participated in various tournaments. The Green Archers won the 1983 Philippine Amateur Basketball League (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 (CCL), which then became the current Philippine Collegiate Championship League (PCCL) with La Salle winning the championship in 2008 and 2013.
In 1986, La Salle was accepted as a member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Since joining the UAAP in 1986, the Green Archers have won 11 UAAP basketball titles – 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2023, and 2025. La Salle's basketball program is known for having the most finals appearance with 19, as well as the longest consecutive finals appearance with nine from 1994 to 2002. The program is also known for having won four straight UAAP championship titles from 1998 to 2001. The Green Archers are also known for sharing a rivalry with other competitive teams in the UAAP, especially with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, UST Growling Tigers, and FEU Tamaraws. In UAAP Season 88, the Green Archers became the second fourth seed team to win the title after the NU Bulldogs from UAAP Season 77 in 2014. La Salle dethroned the UP Fighting Maroons during the best-of-three series, having lost Game 2 but won Games 1 and 3.
The Green Archers won the UAAP Season 85 3x3 basketball tournament in 2023. They retained the title the following year in UAAP Season 86. They won their third consecutive title in UAAP Season 87. In UAAP Season 88, the Green Archers swept the tournament en route to their fourth consecutive championship.
Prior to the start of the UAAP season, the Green Archers participate in multiple preseason tournaments. In the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup they have won four titles, the latest being the 2016 championship. The Green Archers participated in the Buddha Light International Association (BLIA) Cup, where they last won the championship in 2017. The Green Archers have also participated in the PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup as EcoOil–La Salle, where they have won three straight championships. In the Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup, the Green Archers won their first title in 2024. In August 2024, the Green Archers swept the 2024 World University Basketball Series in Tokyo, Japan. La Salle has also participated in the AsiaBasket tournaments. In May 2025, the Green Archers won against the Ateneo Blue Eagles to claim the championship of the 2025 AsiaBasket College Campus Tour. In August 2026, the Green Archers swept the University Top League (UTL) tournament in Japan to win the title.
The team is currently managed by Raffy Villavicencio, Terry Capistrano, Andres Reyes Jr., and Mans Carpio, with International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) chairman and president Enrique K. Razon as the main patron. Topex Robinson serves as the head coach since 2023, with Caloy Garcia as the lead assistant coach. Other assistant coaches include Marlon Celis, Oliver Bunyi, Renren Ritualo, Mon Jose, Gian Nazario, and JB Sison. Miguel Aytona and Gelo Vito serve as strength and conditioning coaches with Timothy Ting as head nutrionist.
Current roster
Head coaches 1964–1978: Tito Eduque 1978–1986: Joaqui Trillo 1986–1991: Derrick Pumaren 1992: Gabby Velasco 1993–1995: Virgil Villavicencio 1996–1997: Jong Uichico 1998–2009: Franz Pumaren 2010–2011: Dindo Pumaren 2012: Gee Abanilla 2013–2015: Juno Sauler 2016–2017: Aldin Ayo 2018: Louie Gonzales 2019: Gian Nazario 2020–2022: Derrick Pumaren 2023–present: Topex Robinson
Season-by-season records Until 1997, the UAAP primarily ranked the teams by tournament points using FIBA's method. Starting in 1998, the UAAP primarily ranked by winning percentage. There's no difference in ranking once all games were played, but in the middle of the season, rankings made by these two methods may differ.
Until 1997 SeasonLeagueElimination roundPlayoffsPosGPWLPtsGPWLResults1987UAAP5th/8146820Did not qualify1988UAAP2nd/81411325101Lost Finals vs Ateneo1989UAAP2nd/81411325202Won Finals vs FEU1990UAAP1st/81411325211Won Finals vs UE1991UAAP1st/81412226101Lost Finals vs FEU1992UAAP1st/81411325202Lost Finals vs FEU1993UAAP3rd/8148622No playoffs held1994UAAP1st/71210222422Lost Finals vs UST1995UAAP2nd/81410424422Lost Finals vs UST1996UAAP1st/81411325312Lost Finals vs UST1997UAAP3rd/81410424422Lost Finals vs FEU
Since 1998 SeasonLeagueElimination roundPlayoffsPosGPWLPCTGBGPWLResults1998UAAP1st/814131.929—431Won Finals vs FEU1999UAAP1st/814113.786—541Won Finals vs UST2000UAAP1st/814122.857—330Won Finals vs FEU2001UAAP1st/814122.857—431Won Finals vs Ateneo2002UAAP1st/814131.929—422Lost Finals vs Ateneo2003UAAP4th/81477.5004211Lost semifinals vs Ateneo2004UAAP2nd/814104.7141541Won Finals vs FEU2005UAAP2nd/814104.7142312Lost Finals vs FEU2006UAAPSuspended2007UAAP2nd/81495.6435541Won Finals vs UE2008UAAP2nd/814104.7143422Lost Finals vs Ateneo2009UAAP6th/81459.3578Did not qualify2010UAAP4th/81486.5714101Lost semifinals vs FEU2011UAAP6th/81459.3578Did not qualify2012UAAP4th/81495.6433211Lost semifinals vs Ateneo2013UAAP2nd/814104.714—541Won Finals vs UST2014UAAP3rd/814104.7141312Lost semifinals vs FEU2015UAAP5th/81468.4295Did not qualify2016UAAP1st/814131.929—330Won Finals vs Ateneo2017UAAP2nd/814122.8571422Lost Finals vs Ateneo2018UAAP5th/81486.5714101Lost 4th seed playoff vs FEU2019UAAP5th/81477.5007Did not qualify2020UAAPSeason canceled2022 (S84)UAAP3rd/81495.6434211Lost semifinals vs UP2022 (S85)UAAP5th/81477.5004101Lost 4th seed playoff vs Adamson2023UAAP2nd/814113.7861431Won Finals vs UP2024UAAP1st/814122.857—422Lost Finals vs UP2025UAAP4th/81486.5713541Won Finals vs UPUAAP totals since 1987516358158.694—97584111 UAAP championships
Honors
Team awards
University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Champions (11): 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2023, 2025 National Colleagiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champions (5): 1939, 1947, 1956, 1971, 1974 National Seniors Open Championship Champions (2): 1939, 1949 Philippine Amateur Basketball League (1): Champions (1): 1983 Basketball Association of the Philippines National Open Champions (1) 1983 Basketball Association of the Philippines Inter-Collegiate Championship Champions (1): 1988 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) Champions (2): 2008, 2013 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup Champions (4): 2006, 2007 , 2014, 2016
Individual awards
NCAA Most Valuable Player: Lim Eng Beng (1): 1974 Alex Marquez (1): 1978 UAAP Most Valuable Player: Jun Limpot (3): 1989, 1990, 1992 Mark Telan (2): 1996, 1997 Don Allado (2): 1997, 1998 Ben Mbala (2): 2016, 2017 Kevin Quiambao (2): 2023, 2024 UAAP Finals Most Valuable Player Don Allado (2): 1998, 1999 Renren Ritualo (1): 2001 Mark Cardona (1): 2004 JVee Casio (1): 2007 Pocholo Villanueva (1): 2007 Jeron Teng (2): 2013, 2016 Kevin Quiambao (1): 2023 Mike Phillips (1): 2025 UAAP Rookie of the Year: Mark Telan (1993) Renren Ritualo (1997) Mike Cortez (2000) Mark Cardona (2001) JVee Casio (2003) Jeron Teng (2012) Andrei Caracut (2015) Aljun Melecio (2016) Kevin Quiambao (2022)
Retired numbers La Salle had retired the numbers of three of their men's basketball players:
#33, Kurt Bachmann #14, Lim Eng Beng #4, Renren Ritualo
Notable players
Uniform Manufacturer 1996–1997: Reebok 1998–2002: Fila 2003: Adidas 2004: K-Swiss 2005–2007: Accel 2008–2010: Adidas 2011–present: Nike
See also De La Salle University De La Salle Green Archers and Lady Archers De La Salle Green Spikers volleyball De La Salle Lady Spikers volleyball De La Salle Lady Booters football
References