COACHES would be the first to remind teams and players about staying focused and blocking out all the noise.
But when the tables turn and the coach becomes a vulnerable target of hate, how does one practice what he or she preaches?
READ: Topex breaks silence, cries foul after spitting accusations
Let the answers come from La Salle head coach Topex Robinson, who found himself in hot water for an in-game spat with the University of the Philippines’ Reyland Torres.
Topex shuts down social media
Way before the aforementioned debacle ran its course - and even if it never happened to begin with - Robinson knew there’d be a lot of noise surrounding him and the Green Archers as the defending UAAP men’s basketball champions.
He’d take it upon himself to stay off social media for at least the duration of their ongoing title defense.
“Well the good thing about it, three months ago pa, I already took out any social media account that I have,” Robinson said.
“Sabi ko nga sa mga players ko, you just can’t know the feeling of being safe that only the most important people in your life know how to get hold of you."
“If you’re not on my contact list, it means you don’t belong in that small circle.”
Smaller and smaller circles
Beyond all things basketball that he’d discuss with his team, bringing themselves away from distractions and whatever anyone else has to say about them is a core philosophy Robinson has always instilled in the Green Archers.
Now on the receiving end of such hostilities, which he first had a taste of in the immediate aftermath of the UP-La Salle game wherein a certain ‘Ms. Villanueva’ blasted hostile words at him with his family around, nothing matters more for the champion coach than being backed by the right people in his ‘small circle.’
“I’m just fortunate to take that out because with what’s happening around, and I always remind them about it until it happened to me,” Robinson shared.
“I’m just so grateful that I had that support and knowing that I could only allow certain people inside my circle. I’m just so grateful for choosing to be out of that social media fiasco that’s happening.”
Robinson and Torres were both handed ‘stern warnings’ for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ in the alleged spitting incident which were preceded and followed by a series of heated on-court verbal exchanges.
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