Defending champion De La Salle University knows that it has a huge target on its back.

Key departures in workhorse big man Mike Phillips, EJ Gollena and guard Kean Baclaan have made the Green Archers’ title defense even more challenging.

But the tough guys from Taft are not backing down.

La Salle will rely more on speed and defensive grit in its repeat title bid in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament.

“We’ll always be a defensive team,” Green Archers assistant coach Caloy Garcia said on Tuesday during the UAAP press conference held at the Novotel Manila in Cubao, Quezon City.

“Coach (Topex Robinson) only emphasized that every single day in practice, we’ll focus more on defense than offense. And we should be faster, technically, because we’re smaller,” he added.

La Salle will begin its back-to-back mission on Sunday against National University (NU) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in a rematch of last year’s Final Four. 

Garcia also acknowledged the big hole the 6-foot-8 Season 88 Finals Most Valuable Player Phillips left, after averaging 12.7 points and 14.9 rebounds per game in his final year. 

“Everybody knows that he was the heart and soul of the team last year,” Garcia said.

“But now we have Earl (Abadam), Luis (Pablo), and Mason (Amos) to try to fit into the shoes of Mike. So, we’re hoping that three heads are better than one.”

La Salle had been busy during the pre-season, tweaking its rotation and looking for the best combination and a better approach to its game. 

“During the preseason, we did lots of experiments. As coach said, that was the best time for us to do experiments. We changed our offense. We changed our defense. In every league that we joined, we just kept on changing to figure things out for the UAAP,” Garcia said.

“Everybody knows La Salle will always be a defensive team that’s why we’re focused on that.”

Looking at the opposition, Garcia felt it would be harder to defend the crown than the Green Archers’ position last year when they tried and succeeded in reclaiming the throne from rival University of the Philippines.

“I think lots of teams beefed up. UST is a strong team now. NU is a strong team. Adamson’s been playing well. All the teams right now, as we always say, it’s going to be anybody’s race this year,” Garcia said.

“I think the most important thing is to try to be healthy during the season because that was one setback that we had last year. So, we’re just hoping that we can be healthy and try to give us another chance again.”

Meanwhile, host Far Eastern University (FEU) is opening Season 89 with a message that goes beyond the competition on the court: the UAAP is #ForEveryone.

FEU is using the theme to recognize not only the student-athletes who take center stage, but also the coaches, officials, student journalists, volunteers, alumni, partners, fans, and other members of the community who help keep the league moving.

For FEU, #ForEveryoneUAAP is meant to capture the shared responsibility and passion that have sustained the league through the years.

Inspired by the university’s “Be Brave” mantra, the theme calls on the UAAP community to compete with integrity, support one another, and strengthen the connections that make collegiate sports more than just a competition.

The season will officially open on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena, with Vice Ganda and Gloc-9 headlining the opening ceremony.

FEU is also putting the UAAP itself at the center of Season 89’s identity by opting not to create a separate season logo.

UAAP Season 89 president Mark Molina said the league should maintain one clear and recognizable mark rather than introduce a new logo every season.

“We believe there should be only one UAAP logo. Creating a different logo for every season can confuse the audience and weaken the branding of the UAAP logo,” Molina said.

The current UAAP logo, created in 2021 by then-FEU Bachelor of Fine Arts Visual Communication student Darryl John Digal, will instead be paired with the “For Everyone, UAAP” theme.

The season’s visual identity will use beadwork-inspired elements, paying homage to Mangyan beadwork traditions, giving Season 89 its own character without creating another logo.