MANILA, Philippines — After a rare off night from Kevin Quiambao, La Salle Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson lauded his team for picking up the slack as they battled a tough Far Eastern University Tamaraws squad in their UAAP Season 87 clash on Wednesday.
The Green Archers saw the reigning Most Valuable Player struggle against FEU, finishing with just eight points on 2-of-17 shooting.
Despite this, La Salle did just enough to secure its 11th win in 12 games this season, ending the contest with a 10-2 run to grab the 58-53 victory.
After the game, Robinson tipped his hat to the team, especially those who stepped up, especially rookie Doy Dungo and veteran Mike Phillips.
“I think isa yun sa bagay that we really love about our team. I have to repeat, KQ is one of us but he's not the whole of us. So, there'll be times that KQ will have those games and this guy [Phillips] will take over on those lapses but yun ang sinasabi namin, it's just nice to have guys stepping up,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“You know, guys really ready to take the challenge. Even Josh [David,] as much as he was really challenged his outside shooting but he was so resilient and he just did not give up and I just love to see them really grinding out with those teams and it's just really fun for us,” he added.
Phillips led the Green Archers with a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds to go with five steals, two blocks and two steals.
Dungo, for his part, had eight points on 4-of-8 shooting, to go with five rebounds and two steals.
“Well, everybody knows on this team their particular roles. Yun nga yung sinabi ni Doy kanina, na even if he’s a rookie, he knows that he has a certain responsibility here. There are a few times in those plays when Mike was trying to yell at him to take the shot,” Robinson said.
“Obviously, being a rookie, you don’t want to take those big time shots but if we have guys like Mike, like KQ, sometimes they’re gonna be struggling you have to share that limelight or that opportunity to these young guys. You know, they’re gonna be the future of our program and it’s just nice to have these kuyas just trying to encourage them as well,” he added.
FEU led by three, 51-48, with 2:07 remaining after a pair of freebies by Royce Alforque.
Phillips and Raven Gonzales then teamed up and unleashed eight straight points to grab a 56-51 lead with 24 ticks left.
A pair of free throws by Mo Konateh made it a one-possession game, 53-56, but Dungo finished on a touchdown pass by David to ice the game and set the final score.
“Trust is really gonna be something that we always live by you know. Guys that are together are playing well together. Even KQ doesn't wanna go in because he knows that he's struggling which is normal, you know, he's gonna have his lows, I mean he always has his highs and what's important here is he also trusts the system you know,” the mentor said.
“Sometimes, you're gonna be the guy. Mike, he loves to be the supporting guy, but there'll be times that he's gonna be the one leading us you know, KQ's really been struggling then, I mean he's been tired din at medyo pagod din siya,” he added.
“There'll be times like that and it's just nice that guys are stepping up. You know, you don't have to tell them to step up they're just gonna come out and just take advantage of the opportunity that's gonna be given to them.”
La Salle will try to inch closer to the top spot of the tournament as they battle the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in last season’s finals rematch on Sunday, 6:30 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.