DE LA Salle coach Juno Sauler remains wary of how his team has been closing games despite a recent victory that snapped the Green Archers' two-game losing skid.
The Green Archers came so close to bowing out on Wednesday against Adamson when it lost grip of a 15-point lead and let the Falcons level the score in the endgame.
Eventually, La Salle edged Adamson, 70-67, ending a two-game slide that saw them lose big leads in endgames both times.
Despite chalking up the win, Sauler noted they just couldn’t lessen the mistakes in the final period after playing well in the first three quarters of the games.
“The problem is in the endgame, we commit mistakes in the fourth that we don’t do in the first three quarters,” said the soft-spoken Sauler. “It’s just about learning how to play for 40 minutes.”
The La Salle coach said one of the reasons for their meltdown in the fourth is turnovers, something that they hope to arrest in their final game in the first round.
“In the end, we committed turnovers. It’s just something that we just have to clean up. We have to sustain what we do in the first three quarters,” said Sauler.
La Salle, with a record of 3-3 win-loss, is currently in a share of third place with three other teams in Adamson, National University, and University of the East.
The Green Archers end their first-round campaign on Sunday against NU.
“More important than ending the first round on a winning note is how to close out the game,” said Sauler. “It’s a cliché that we focus on one game at a time. More important is that we know how to close the game.”
For sister site Spot.ph's rankings on this year's UAAP courtside reporters, see UAAP Team Knockouts: Prettiest Female Courtside Reporters in Season 76
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
