De La Salle University took the first step to redemption when it waged a recruiting coup in preparation for Season 86 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament this year.
According to a school insider, the Green Archers already secured the commitments of Filipino-Americans Geremy Robinson Jr. and DJ Mitchell as well as four other high school standouts, making them a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming collegiate wars.
A 6-foot-2 combo guard from Moanalua High School in Hawaii, Robinson will have four years of eligibility in the UAAP, giving the Green Archers a lot of time to break him into the system and bounce back from a nightmarish season last year.
In his first appearance, Robinson, whose father played as import for FedEx during the 2011 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup, displayed flashes of brilliance as he led the Green Archers to the semifinals of the FilOil EcoOil Preseason Tournament last year.
Mitchell, meanwhile, is a six-foot shooting guard from Hartford University.
He will be one-and-done for the Green Archers after playing four years of college ball for the Hawks in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I.
Aside from Robinson and Mitchell, La Salle will also parade local high school recruits like Jonnel Policarpio, Mur Alao, EJ Gollena and Nathan Montecillo.
A former Mapua star, the 6-foot-5 Montecillo made a lot of heads turn when he bagged the Most Valuable Player award of the 2022 SLAM Rising Stars Classic while te 6-foot-2 Alao will become the next Archer to come out of San Beda University like Renren Ritualo, JVee Casio and Andrei Caracut.
Montecillo, meanwhile, is a heady point guard from Cebu while the 6-foot-3 Gollena transferred from Lyceum of the Philippines University to patrol the shaded lanes for the Green Archers in the upcoming UAAP season.
