By MARK REY MONTEJO
For De La Salle head coach Topex Robinson, the stinging loss to University of the East a few days ago was a wake-up call.
And the response was quick after the Green Archers answered the call and trounced the FEU Tamaraws, 68-62, on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
“UE didn’t upset us, they really deserved the win. Sometimes, we’re taking away the credit from coach Jack [Santiago] and the rest of the team,” said Robinson after La Salle’s triumph over the hard-fighting FEU at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“They really did their job. We don’t really consider that as an upset and UE just gave us something that really helped us,” he continued.
The defending champions surely learned their lessons, and Robinson believes the message was clear: it will only get tougher as the season gets deeper.
“It kinda cleans up the pressure of not losing, when you get so used to winning parang kasalanan na matalo ka. But I guessed what it did to us as a team, it grounded us,” Robinson continued.
“And it just reminded us that this game [and] season for us is hard and even harder just like what happened today with FEU. If it doesn’t kill us, it just gonna make us stronger,” he added.
With Kevin Quiambao feeling under the weather, another veteran in Mike Phillips led the way for La Salle against FEU.
“Rough loss to UE, it really gave us an opportunity to test our character, test the culture that we’re building from the last couple of months and years that coach Topex has been here,” said Phillips, who finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Quiambao still impressed after scattering 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
Up next for La Salle is UST (3-1) Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
