TOPEX Robinson, for all his brilliance on the sidelines, has never won a Game One in the Finals.
Until Wednesday, that is.
The always-amiable mentor was actually unaware of this fact following La Salle's 74-70 win over the University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball championship that he couldn't help but let a small smile slip.
"I have no idea, but I guess there's always a first time for everything," he said.
READ: La Salle takes fight out of UP to move a win away from regaining crown
Championship series openers have been unkind to Robinson dating back to his time in Lyceum, as San Beda got the better of the Pirates in NCAA Seasons 93 and 94 in 2017 and 2018. Those ended up in sweeps for the Red Lions.
Even when he got to the UAAP, Robinson failed to win Game Ones. The Green Archers got blasted by the Fighting Maroons, 97-67, in Season 86 in 2023, and fell short, 73-65, against the same State U side in Season 87 last year.
That's why this victory felt like a breath of fresh air for Robinson.
Won a game, yet to win the series
Nonetheless, the champion shot-caller knows that getting the headstart in a best-of-three series doesn't guarantee anything just yet, all the more against this tough UP team.
That's why Robinson is guarding his wards against complacency, noting that despite La Salle's 3-0 record against the Fighting Maroons, it's the latter that has long kept the former humbled.
"We have so much respect for UP that we know that at any given time, they could beat us," he said. "We've always remembered those heartbreaks we had last season, and even in the Filoil [Preseason Cup] where they really grounded us."
"Pagka medyo umaangat na yung ihi namin, gina-ground kami ng team na yun. So I guess one main key is respect, that we just respect them a lot and we know what they could really bring. So we cannot really relax at this point."
With a chance to close the series out on Sunday, Robinson urged the Green Archers to look back on their journey and use this as fuel to finally complete this redemption arc.
"We always go back to our past seasons, those hurts, those lessons, we always start to ground all of these guys knowing that it's not over kasi nga, respetado namin yung team na yun, so alam namin na hindi lang ibibigay sa amin," he said.
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