By NIKOLE JAVIER
The La Salle Green Archers have found their way back to the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament after last year’s heartbreak.
The Kevin Quiambao-led La Salle pulled away late from its Season 85 tormentor Adamson for a 69-57 victory that secured its playoff seat on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Last year, the Archers and the Falcons vied for the last semifinal slot in a rubber match that saw the Jerom Lastimosa-led Adamson come out the better side.
“If you’d asked me that before, I would have said it was personal, I’d say it was something like an act of revenge. But something I learned from coach Topex and the coaching staff this year, that kinda gets to your head. If it becomes too personal, then you worry about the other team,” said Mike Phillips.
“Of course, we have to be prepared. But we really focus on ourselves. Yes, they did knock us out in the playoffs (last season), but for this game, it was just another game. We prepared just like any other game. We didn’t come out and play our best, so Adamson gave us a really tough fight. So, we’re just happy to move on to the next game with a win,” he added.
With an 8-3 tally in the standings, La Salle remained in hunt for the coveted twice-to-beat advantage behind University of the Philippines and National University, who both share similar 9-2 records.
Not only the win allowed the Green Archers to be in a much favored situation than they were last season, but also gave them their fifth straight victory to stay as the only unbeaten team in the second round.
Despite the fact, head tactician Topex Robinson and big man Phillips refused to get ahead of themselves, and instead emphasized on consistency moving forward to their three remaining games of the elimination round.
“For me, ‘yong consistency. ‘Yon talaga ang gusto ko makita sa team and especially we have this mix of veteran guys with rookie guys. And so, these games really help shape us, really help us prepare for the games going ahead. That’s why we didn’t wanna overlook a game like this, overlook any games cause they really help us prepare for the adversity we are gonna face in the playoffs, in the Final Four. I think this is just another learning experience for us. Really helped us bond like coach said, this is something that will prepare us down the road,” Phillips said.
“These guys were challenged during the time we were struggling. Instead of them looking for other excuses, they just responded. They know how hard it is to represent DLSU. They know the struggles that they’ve been through. What’s important to us is we kept our circle solid. When we lost against Ateneo in that first round, it really hurt us. But it also bonded us, the time we spent together sharing those struggles. We’re a united front, we wanna make sure to take the opportunity to always strive to be the best version of ourselves,” the UAAP rookie coach said.
With MVP frontrunner Quiambao in tow, La Salle will resume action against Final Four hopeful University of the East (4-7) on Sunday, Nov. 12, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
