La Salle's Quiambao, Nelle lauded for playing through grief, injury

MANILA, Philippines – Kevin Quiambao and Evan Nelle both gained the respect of head coach Topex Robinson by simply being on the court for the DLSU Green Archers in their 83-75 UAAP Season 86 win over the UE Red Warriors at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in España on Saturday.

Nevermind that Quiambao fell just one rebound short of a triple-double, or that Nelle came out with an all-around game in 25 minutes of action off the bench.

What Robinson was most proud of for his two wards was that they showed up to play despite having different reasons to sit out.

Nelle, for his part, is continuing to nurse his quad contusion injury, while Quiambao was fighting a personal battle on the death anniversary of his grandfather. 

But for the pride of La Salle, both showed up.

‘’Actually, Kevin came here in this game with so much emotion because it's his lolo's death anniversary. He was even contemplating on even missing this game because he grew up with his grandparents,” Robinson said of the UAAP Season 85 Rookie of the Year.

“And that's why he said prior to the game, 'Coach, ikaw na bahala sa akin. I might not really be O.K.’ because it's really something na sobrang attached sa kanya. Kevin just delivered for us,” he added.

Quiambao was key to La Salle’s fourth victory of the season, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.

Meanwhile, Nelle, came of the bench and provided crucial stats, with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Missing Nelle’s leadership against the Fighting Maroons earlier this week, Robinson lauded his senior’s fighting spirit.

“Evan is not really 100%. The fighter in Evan showed up earlier. He really doesn't want to miss games,” said the tactician.
 
“He feels [like] he owes to the team to be at his best. Whether [he] has an injury or not, that's the dedication that he has… You cannot really question the heart of Evan. He's really a fighter. He's one of the backbones of this team. He just proves how important he is to this team.”

Finishing the first round with a winning 4-3 record, Robinson will hope to continue leaning on both Quiambao and Nelle when it matters most, as the race for the Final Four heats up.

Focused on themselves, Robinson looks within his team to hopefully find success when the going gets tough.

“We are always going to run our own race. We don't look forward, we don't look backwards who's there. We have control of our fate. What's important for us is the opportunity in front of us,” he said.