THE De La Salle Green Archers begin their title defense in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday. For its first assignment of the season, La Salle faces last season's third placer NU Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m., their match serving as the main event of a triple-header. The UE Red Warriors clash against the UST Growling Tigers at 1 p.m. to open the men's games followed by the Adamson Soaring Falcons taking on the FEU Tamaraws at 3 p.m. While reigning Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao stays with the team alongside reliable big Mike Philips, other key players from last season's La Salle team in Evan Nelle, Mark Nonoy and Jonell Policarpio are no longer with the Green Archers, moving up to the pros. Crucial as that depth loss in terms of talent, La Salle coach Topex Robinson said that his team will perform based on if it can maintain the culture it built last year in his first go with the team and the league. "Well, we've created a program or a culture wherein we are solid without pillars. Everybody knows that if you come to DLSU, we're gonna introduce to our culture, and what we produce will be the difference, we've created a structure wherein we're just gonna plug and play players in," shared Robinson. "If you are good enough, really to be at home with what we are trying to build, you're gonna thrive, you know, and if you don't, it's gonna be an easy in and out for us. "So, I think for us, it's not who we have as a team, or the players that we have but what culture we are building and the role of the guys that are part of that last year is to keep it alive and how to share it with the guys that we have this year." The UAAP kick-started the season with a grand opening ceremony highlighted by the performance of iconic rock band Eraserheads.