LA Salle's loss to San Beda in the Filoil Flying V Premier Preason Cup final apparently hurt a little more after former Green Archer Robert Bolick hit the game-winner.
"Masakit sa amin kasi s'ya pa yung tumira, di ba?" said La Salle coach Aldin Ayo after the former Green Archer hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to lift San Beda to a 75-72 victory in the title game.
"Pero ganun talaga basketball. Nangyayari yung mga di mo kontrolado. You did your best pero kulang so iisipin mo na baka kulang ginagawa mo."
[See Bolick once again breaks former team La Salle's heart with title-clinching trey for San Beda]
But more than the Bolick winner, Ayo rued what he said was his team's lack of effort in the endgame, leading to back-to-back three-pointers by AC Soberano and Bolick.
"We played a good game, we executed our game plan, yung sa dulo lang, (nagkulang) yung aggressiveness," he said.
"I was telling my players there are things not asked of you to do but since this is a competition, whatever you can contribute you have to contribute because it's all about winning."
As much as the loss stung, Ayo chose to focus on their gains in the preseason tournament where they finished fourth in Group B before climbing their way to the finals.
The loss, he said, only revealed what needs to be addressed in the months leading up to the reigning UAAP champions title-retention campaign in the UAAP in September.
"This is going to be a good learning experience for us," he said.
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