LA Salle’s Ben Mbala looks to put the preseason dust-up against Far Eastern University behind him and focus on the present as the two teams face each other in their UAAP Season 79 opener.
The tune-up match between La Salle and FEU ended prematurely last August 4 after a confrontation between Tamaraws assistant coach Eric Gonzales and Green Archers head coach Aldin Ayo.
Incidentally, La Salle and FEU lock horns in their season debut on Wednesday, September 7, at the Mall of Asia Arena. And Mbala would rather set aside the animosity and focus on the task at hand.
“These are just the things that happened and I don’t want to keep it in mind. I'll just leave it in the past and try to focus on what I have to do in the UAAP,” Mbala said.
Mbala also expects teams to be physical against him this season, and it is his job to adjust to how squads will defend him.
“I think basketball is a physical game, you just expect contact, and sometimes people (will commit a) hard foul. It’s part of the game," he said.
"You just got to have to find a way to play through it and that's it. We just have keep our mental focus and just not get out of the way of playing basketball," the Cameroonian big man added.
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