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By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--The talk of the town is now official.
Juno Sauler tendered his resignation as the coach of La Salle after a dismal showing in the soon-to-end UAAP season.
The university announced the development on Tuesday, a day after initial reports surfaced online.
Despite a sad conclusion to his three-year tenure as mentor, La Salle thanked Sauler, who himself was a Green Archer during his college days, for giving the team multiple championships.
"The University extends its appreciation to Coach Juno for his years of dedicated service to the team," the official statement read.
Sauler led the Green Archers to the UAAP and the PCCL titles in 2013 and the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Premier Cup plum in 2014.
However, they failed to defend their big league pennants last year, losing to the FEU Tamaraws in the UAAP Final Four on a last-second triple by Mac Belo and to the San Beda Red Lions in the PCCL Finals.
San Beda reasserted its mastery over La Salle in this year's FilOil tourney final, and a poor second round cost La Salle a Final Four berth.
The Green Archers' management will put up a search committee for the new coach, and the team will keep everyone posted for the latest updates.
Assistant Coach Siot Tanquincen, former La Salle head Franz Pumaren, and former Letran mentor Louie Alas loom as the frontrunners for the said post.
However, all points lead to Pumaren, the architect of the Archers' four-peat from 1998-2001, as a cinch for the coaching stint as rumors say that the team management prefers a fellow La Sallian.
Pumaren once played for the Green Archers during the 80's, while Tanquincen and Alas once played for the UST Growling Tigers and the Adamson Soaring Falcons respectively.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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