GREEN AND MEAN

La Salle left no questions unanswered when it shut out Adamson, 82-52, for a second consecutive win in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.The Green Archers, who were coming from a tight 78-75 victory against National University, knew from a previous matchup against the Soaring Falcons that if they let their guard down, Adamson would swoop in for the win.

So they didn’t even let the Adamson show its talons and immediately shot down the Falcons.

“We always learn from our past experiences,” coach Topex Robinson said. “When we played Adamson in FilOil [Preseason Cup], we were ahead most of the time and then we kinda relaxed and that gave Adamson all the opportunity to really get close to us.”

“That was a reminder for the team coming into this game that this Adamson team is a scary team. They just came off a victory against [Far Eastern U] so their morale is high and we came off just a close game so we wanna make sure that we don’t fall to that same trap that we had before,” Robinson added.

La Salle didn’t even care about how deep it had already buried Adamson, it just kept on plucking the feathers off the Falcons as MVP Kevin Quiambao continued to lead with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

The Archers aren’t trying to win just a game after all. They are gunning for another championship.

“If you’re representing La Salle, we talk about championships. You breathe, you eat, you sleep championships and you just try to get better and prolong the season with your eyes looking at the Finals,” Robinson told the Inquirer in a separate interview.

More exposure

With everything going the Archers’ way, Robinson was able to give his role players more exposure and those who rose to the occasion included rookies David Dungo and Henry Agunanne.

“These games will help us get there, so that’s what we are always looking at, not just the wins, the numbers itself [and] the more we get the momentum, the more we get guys like Doy (Dungo) and Henry to support KQ (Kevin Quiambao) and Mike [Phillips],” the sophomore mentor said.

“And that’s what we’re looking for right now. It just so happens that we’re winning but that’s always our focus: to improve and grow better as a team,” he added.

Dungo finished with 15 points on an 83 percent shooting while Agunanne filled in the shoes of Phillips well after contributing a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds.

But those two who stepped up as well as the others from the bench are not merely plugs to fill in the gap for the Archers during garbage time. Robinson has given these guys the responsibility of being there when the opportunity calls.

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“Everybody in this team knows that they will have the opportunity … but what I am telling them is that the opportunity will always come by you, but it depends if you’re ready,” Robinson said.

Same approach

“When they knew that Doy was having his game, they were really looking for him. It wasn’t really an instruction from the coaching staff but [a decision by the players]. We always say that we always play for each other and it just so happened that Doy and Henry were having a good game so guys gave them the opportunity,” he added.

La Salle adds another chapter to its bitter rivalry against Ateneo in its next game on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena. And even if the Blue Eagles are not on the same level as the Archers are now, Robinson wants his wards going into that game with the same wary approach.

“We’ll always respect [Ateneo]. It doesn’t matter who we’re gonna play, we’re always gonna make sure that we focus on the things that we have control [over] and that’s us so we make sure we’ll respect and honor this game,” Robinson said.

“That’s been good to us by the way we play. We always remind ourselves—the important game is the game that’s in front of us so it just so happens that it’s Ateneo for our next game but we’ll definitely bring what we’ve learned from this,” he said. INQ