La Salle coach Franz Pumaren doesn’t appear to be worried about the message that was delivered by his team’s loss against University of the East in the opening game of the UAAP basketball tournament last Saturday.

Those who have followed the UAAP and the history of La Salle were apparently shocked at the Green Archers’ dismal performance who practically went down without a fight in a 65-46 loss to the Warriors.

"There's no need to push the panic button," Pumaren said after spending almost an hour talking to the team at the dugout after the game. "It showed that they were kind of tentative and jittery but I am still confident that they will rise to the occasion."

With a team composed of several rookies and unproductive holdovers, the jitters were in full display as the young squad played like a team out of its league.

To illustrate, the Green Archers missed 53-of-70 shots for a 24-percent clip and highlighted the day by scoring just three points in the final quarter.

No one could remember the last time a La Salle team had a record of futility to match this last quarter output.

As a result, UE had a 22-point lead midway through the final period and loosened up to allow La Salle to narrow the gap at the buzzer.

It was the La Salle's worst defeat since losing to UE by 20 points on July 22, 2007. The 46-point output was the lowest of any team the Warriors played against since they held National University to just 40 points in a 20-point winning margin on July 15, 2004.

With the loss of battle-tested JV Casio and Rico Maierhofer, La Salle got little contribution from holdovers Peejay Barua, James Mangahas, Maui Villanueva, and Bader Malabes while rookies Samuel Marata, Joel Tolentino, and Arvie Bringas did little to help their cause.

"Actually, I didn't get mad at them,” said Pumaren. “I just pointed out certain things that we need to improve on. It's very seldom I raise my voice because as a young team, things like this happen."

"We don't have a single dominant player. I think the players have to accept that there's no more JV and Rico. I'm quite confident and the coaching staff (is confident) that we can adjust. We've been through it."

In 11 seasons at the helm, however, Pumaren had never given La Salle a 0-2 start. On Saturday, he hopes to keep his record intact although that might not be the case as they meet title contender Far Eastern University.

The Tamaraws battled title favorite Ateneo down the wire before folding up, 63-59, last Sunday.

"I think they got the upper hand. Individually, they are probably a much deeper team but I think we can compete, there's no question about that," he said.