LA Salle is taking no chances and keeping its preparations under wraps as the defending champion turned their attention to Ateneo ahead of the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball finals.
Inquiries regarding practice schedules of La Salle were left unanswered on Thursday, a day after the Blue Eagles beat Far Eastern University in overtime to earn a shot at the Green Archers in the finals.
Players have also been discouraged from granting interviews to mediamen, SPIN.ph has learned.
The Green Archers are determined to rule out any distractions ahead of the best-of-three finals against the Blue Eagles, who are out to avenge a loss to their longtime rivals in the title series last year.
In an interview after La Salle booked a finals seat with a win over Adamson, La Salle coach Aldin Ayo couldn't emphasize enough the value of focus.
“We are focused on a game plan especially on defense because when we were in the first round, there were a lot of distractions. Simple schemes on defense, sometimes we can’t execute. We tend to gamble a lot, and we were very undisciplined when we were in the first round," he said.
“But it became different in the second round because they just surrendered to the system and overcome the distractions,” said Ayo.
Ayo said it was easier to keep the Green Archers locked in as they got closer to their ultimate goal - a second straight title.
“Wala namang motivation kundi championship eh. ‘Yun lang. Wala ng hugot o ano. Championship ang pinag-uusapan dun,” said Ayo.
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