YELLOW was the color of the day during the Ateneo-La Salle game last Sunday.

But as I gazed over the huge crowd, I noticed a cluster of guys on the La Salle side wearing green shirts instead of yellow. They were even leading the cheers to pump up the crowd.

They were a group of students and alumni who had decided to remain true to their color, but they still honored president Aquino by wearing yellow pins. They aptly called themselves Gang Green.

?Our main purpose is to pep up the team and the fans through our cheers,? said Michael Reyes, an 18-year-old Electronics and Communications Engineering major from DLSU-Manila. The gang was actually started by a group of students in 2003 and, since then, they already have hundreds of members within the university and around 40 of them, the core group, watch every single game of the Archers. They usually occupy the upper box portion of the arena.

Thanks to modern technology, membership in Gang Green has become easy and their number has been growing steadily. ?We are able to recruit new members through the Internet,? said Patrick Manalo, a 27-year-old Business Management alum. ?We have this website, www.archerpride.com where we have forums for the fans and for the students who might be interested in joining the group. Gang Green is open to all Lasallians who want to support the team.?

Not only when it matters

Like every other group, Gang Green wouldn?t be complete without a motto or a battle cry. ?We chose ?Not only when it matters? because we are here not only when the team is up or winning, but most especially when it is losing. We have been used to seeing the winning tradition of La Salle, and now that the team is struggling a bit, the more we need to show our support,? said Manalo.

Going all-out

These die-hard fans have extended their love and support not only through their cheers but also through their activities off the court. ?We organize parties and thanksgiving dinners for the players, whether they have a winning season or not. We also produce our own shirts that we wear during the games,? Manalo said.

The funds they use for their projects generally come from their own pockets, a ?collective effort? as they would like to call it. At the end of every game, whether the Green Archers win or lose, these guys and gals go out and have dinner and celebrate their bond that has been forged by their love for their alma mater.