League-leading Archers stay grounded

MANILA, Philippines -- La Salle head coach Topex Robinson is keeping the Green Archers grounded despite sweeping their archrivals Ateneo Blue Eagles in a UAAP season series for the first time since 2013.

La Salle defeated Ateneo on Saturday evening, 80-65, as forward Kevin Quiambao exploded for a career-high 33 points.

This is a repeat of the Green Archers’ triumph in the first round, when they won 74-61.

After the game, Robinson told reporters that they are not focusing on the sweep and that they are setting their sights on a much bigger prize.

“For us naman kasi we always gonna focus on what’s in front of us we don’t really look at, not until you mention about the sweep. It’s still not gonna make us champions, just by beating them twice, beating coach Tab twice, it doesn’t make us champions yet,” he said.

“We have to always remind ourselves to keep ourselves humble, knowing that ang dami pa namin kailangan i-correct rather than to think big about ourselves just because of those wins. It’s still not gonna make us champions, but it’s gonna keep us closer to winning the championship,” he added.

The defending champions are already assured of a Final Four berth and are inching closer to a twice-to-beat advantage with a 10-1 win-loss record.

La Salle also won its seventh straight game in the UAAP Season 87.

“Sa amin it’s going to be continuous growth, continuous learning, learning from these guys at the same time,” he said.

“So we’re also gonna have our rough patches, our challenges, we always try to remind ourselves that if you’re going through these challenges, remember this moment, go back to this moment and remember the feeling because you know hindi ka parati nasa taas e,” he added.

“Always remember to be grateful din for all the blessings that have been given to us. Just keep on learning I think that’s very important to us.”

Robinson, though, underscored that he previously dreamed of being part of the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry, and that he constantly reminds his wards to “not to let the pressure or the challenge take away the enjoyment of being a part of history.”

“Nobody could take this away from us the part of playing against our rival schools, it’s always gonna be competitive and what I really admire about that competition is after the game there’s always gonna be respect, we respect the worthy rivals and at the end of the day we just played for glory, for our school,” he said.

Quiambao, for his part, also underscored that the team is still far from where they want to be despite being on top. 

The Green Archers will have a lengthy layoff and will return to action on November 6, Wednesday, against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.