The La Salle Green Archers are grateful for the nip-and-tuck affair they experienced against the FEU Tamaraws, seeing it as a timely learning experience ahead of the Final Four.
La Salle Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson couldn’t help but be grateful for the close shave his Green Archers experienced against coach Sean Chambers and the rookie-laden FEU Tamaraws last Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Archers defeated the Tamaraws 58-53 on Wednesday, with a fourth-quarter surge from Mike Phillips sealing their narrow escape in the nip-and-tuck affair. Phillips scored 11 points in the final period to finish with 17 markers, 15 rebounds, and five steals in 22 minutes and 50 seconds of play.
“We just have to give it to FEU. Sean [Chambers] is doing a really great job there, doing what he has with that young team and we just try to grind it out with them. We know that it was going to be a fast-paced game and we just tried to keep it simple on our end. We try to make it a boring game by not outrunning them because it’s going to be a disaster for us if we did,” Robinson said post-game.
For Robinson, this is a perfect preview of the UAAP Final Four intensity for his Archers. UAAP Season 87 is on the homestretch of eliminations, with the La Salle having two games left after Wednesday.
“Those opportunities will just try to make us better as a team and we have to go through some shared struggles and challenges. At this point kasi, when things are not really going our way, we just have to trust these guys to find ways. There are times that you don’t really have to coach them but you just have to teach them,” he reflected.
“Experience will always be the best teacher. And I really like it when we go through those kinds of games because we’re just trying to get better from those experiences. We’re trying to sharpen our saw, especially heading into the Final Four and those games are really gonna be the games that we’re gonna see.”
Phillips had similar thoughts with his head coach as he expressed his joy in grinding it out against the Tamaraws.
“It’s one of the most fun games that I’ve had. When a lot of things are going wrong in my life, these are the types of moments that I really look forward to. And I’m so grateful that God woke me up and gave me the opportunity to play. And I just love seeing the smiles on my teammates,” said the fourth-year big man.
Motor Mike tipped his hat off to the Tamaraws, who were led by youngsters Mo Konateh, Veejay Pre and Janrey Pasaol alongside senior Royce Alforque on Wednesday. For him, their game perfectly encapsulated the level of competition in the UAAP.
“The standings, the records do not depict what FEU is. It does not depict at all how hard they fight. They’re young guys but they’re really doing so well. Like what Coach Topex said, Coach Sean is doing an amazing job and those guys are going to be really scary,” an enthusiastic Phillips said.
Konateh paced the Tamaraws with 14 points and a whopping 27 rebounds, while Pre followed with 12 points and five rebounds in a gutsy showing against La Salle. Pasaol and Alforque added 11 points apiece for the Morayta-based squad.
“I told them, ‘You guys really have a bright future’ and it makes me more excited to play again and really keep working hard. There’s no easy game in the UAAP and we really have to be challenged. And that’s the most fruitful part of being in this league,” said the 22-year-old bruiser.
Championship depth
Wednesday was also a full showing of La Salle’s championship depth. On top of Phillips’ dominance, rookie Doy Dungo also chipped in eight points and five rebounds, while JC Macalalag added nine markers.
Joshua David struggled to find his shot all night, but hit a huge triple that inched the Archers closer to a comeback. David also did some dirty work to finish with five assists and five rebounds in nearly 29 minutes of play.
It’s even more remarkable given this was a rare off-night for Kevin Quiambao who finished with eight points despite pulling down 13 rebounds against the Tamaraws.
“I have to repeat, KQ’s one of us but he’s not the whole of us. There will be times that KQ has those off games and this guy will take over on those lapses. But ‘yun nga ‘yung sinasabi namin na it’s just nice to have guys stepping up. Guys ready to take the challenge,” said Robinson.
Up next for La Salle will be a highly-anticipated rematch against the UP Fighting Maroons on Sunday, November 10. Robinson quickly downplayed the hype, treating it as another part of their Season 87 calendar.
State U and La Salle’s first UAAP Season 87 meeting led to the “spitgate” controversy, where Robinson was accused of spitting at Fighting Maroons’ forward Reyland Torres. Both were given sanctions for unsportsmanlike conduct while the spitting allegations remained unproven.
“Just like how we treat each and every game, it just happens to be them that we’re facing. Whether we like it or not, we’re going to see them. We’re excited, moving forward, and looking at what we can learn to prepare for the upcoming Final Four. We don’t really put too much attention on who we’re going to play because we can’t control what they’ll do,” said Robinson.
“What we have full control over is how we prepare and how we approach the game, which will be another exciting ballgame for us.”
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.