After absorbing back-to-back losses in their UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball campaign, the La Salle Green Archers returned to the win column with a 112-87 blowout victory against the UE Red Warriors on Sunday, October 4, at the PhilSports Arena.
Reflecting on the two-game slump, head coach Topex Robinson discussed the importance of the Green Archers focusing on their own pursuit of a title, and underscored that opponents are now more poised to topple the defending champions.
“We just discussed earlier how unpredictable this season will be… It’s really more of focusing on our own race… trying to make sure we get better as a group,” Robinson said postgame. “We’re well aware of how this season will look like for us. We’ve taken away the word ‘luck’ if teams beat us because they’ve really prepared well,” he added.
Lots of Work Left for La Salle
Despite the morale-boosting win against UE, Robinson acknowledged that the Green Archers are still far from their championship form, and will continue to sharpen their iron in their upcoming matches.
“We just have to find a way to weather the storm and try to focus on how we’re gonna get better. Still a lot of work for us… A lot of promise moving on to these games,” the champion tactician said.
Despite improving to an even 2-2 record, the Archers remain entangled in the standings, currently sharing a four-way tie with the NU Bulldogs, UP Fighting Maroons, and UST Growling Tigers.
Now injected with much-needed momentum, the Taft-based squad’s crosshairs are set on yet another slugfest as they prepare to play three games in the coming week, starting with their historic rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
“This is gonna be our tough week, we’ll play three games in seven days and we’re gonna play the top teams in the next couple of days, so that’s gonna be exciting for us,” Robinson said. “Every Ateneo-La Salle game is a different animal… It’s always gonna be something that we always look forward to,” he added.
Looking Forward to Rivalry Game
Robinson also expressed much excitement ahead of their marquee matchup with the Louie Alas-led squad, with whom he shared the playbook as an assistant coach across multiple years in the PBA with the Alaska Aces and Phoenix Fuelmasters.
“It’s gonna be a very exciting experience for me as a young coach, learning from the way he handles teams, especially in college. You could really see the personality of the team, it’s really Coach Louie,” the La Salle head man said.
Robinson and the Green Archers will face the Blue Eagles on Wednesday, October 7, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
