Defensive lapses culprit to Archers poor start says Sauler

MANILA, Philippines -- DLSU coach Juno Sauler rues the inconsistent play of the Green Archers that led them to woeful 0-2 start including a disappointing 97-86 loss to rival Ateneo Blue Eagles in the 77th season of the UAAP men's basketball tourney at the Smart Araneta Colisuem yesterday.

"There were some instances we knew what we were doing but sometimes it looked like we are lost. We just need to play consistent 40 minutes of basketball," said Sauler, who led the Archers to the championship in his first year as coach last season.

He pointed out their feeble defense as the key to their two losses and gave credit to Ateneo's Kiefer Ravena and FEU's Mike Tolomia who both had superb games against the Taft-based squad.

"We have to toughen up on the defensive end, with Tolomia beating us with three points shots, same with Ravena. We need to improve our mental toughness and again be consistent especially on the defensive end," said Sauler.

DLSU lost their starting point guard Thomas Torres as he suffered a fractured ankle in the third quarter of their match against Ateneo and is predicted to miss at least six weeks and likely to miss the rest of the season.

"The loss of Torres affected us, our rotation changed. There was a stretch where we have Almond (Vosotros) in the point guard spot and Jeron in the two spot we had to adjust," said Sauler.