By Jerome Lagunzad
Reigning champion La Salle got back to the finals way ahead of its strongest rivals, but despite that, coach Aldin Ayo has refused to give any preference on which he wants to face between Ateneo and host Far Eastern University.
He knows too well that he might even end up with his own poison.
“Whoever is deserving. Be careful with what you wish for,” Ayo said moments after defending champion and second-seeded La Salle bundled out third-ranked Adamson, 82-75, in their controversial Final Four encounter over the weekend.
“Kasi if you pick someone, it adds to the pressure, because pinili mo tapos ‘yun ang kalaban mo. Right away, hindi pa nag-uumpisa ‘yung laro, motivated na ‘yung kalaban mo. So whoever is deserving, we’re going to play against them.”
For the meantime, Ayo and the rest of the Green Archers are biding their time in preparing themselves for the ultimate battle ahead as they even watched it live when the No. 4 Tamaraws stunned the No. 1 Blue Eagles, 80-67, last Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
But that doesn’t mean the Green Archers won’t take full advantage of a near week-long respite since the race-to-two finals affair gets going on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We’re going back to basics,” said Ayo. “Hindi pa namin alam kung sino ang kalaban. Kung wala pang kalaban, praktisin muna namin kung ano ‘yung mga usual namin na ginagawa. Pero kung meron ng kalaban, we’ll start preparing for kung sino man.”
Whoever will face the Green Archers will surely have their hands full.
Cameroon big man Ben Mbala has proven every inch that he deserves the season MVP honors for the second straight year, wingman Ricci Rivero has embraced a bigger role with gusto and their teammates have shown that they can deliver the numbers when called upon after they all blew hot and cold in the first round.
“Well, it’s all about surrendering to the system,” said Ayo, who should also given a fair share of credit for pushing all the right buttons in the course of La Salle’s resurgence in the second round.
“As I’ve told you before, there were lots of distractions during the first round. Good thing lahat naka-focus na. We only have one goal and everybody has been very, very responsible for the things that we’re doing. Lahat nagsa-sakripisyo, lahat nagta-trabaho. We’re not going to stop working hard until we get the championship.”