PART of being a great leader is to hold oneself accountable.
READ: The sneaky Green Archer in top 10 of UAAP Season 87 MVP race
In his third year in La Salle, reigning UAAP Season and Finals MVP Kevin Quiambao puts a premium on taking responsibility in his newfound leadership role for the defending champions.
But even as one of the best players Philippine basketball has to offer today, Quiambao’s only human, too, and isn’t spared from mistakes even in the biggest moments.
To err is human
By no means is KQ an invincible force.
His crucial free-throw misses in their first-round loss to UE and a troika of turnovers in a late escape past UST echo a resounding sentiment from La Salle head coach Topex Robinson: “KQ will win games and lose games for us, as simple as that.”
But as an old proverb goes, fall down seven times, stand up eight.
“As a leader, kung ano ‘yung pinapakita ko sa team, kung down ‘yung morale ko, down sila. Kapag nagkakamali ako, sinasabi ko lang na ‘mali ko ‘yun, next play tayo.’ ‘Wag nating pilitin nang pilitin. Hintayin lang natin na dumating sa atin ‘yung laro,” Quiambao said.
“‘Yung mga mistakes naman, ‘yun naman ‘yung pina-practice namin. ‘Yung mga turnovers, yung mga unforced turnovers, marami lang din kaming iniisip sa game, pero hinahayaan kami ni coach.
“Kailangan lang naming i-value ang bawat possession dahil ‘yung mga lapses na ‘yun, nawo-work on sa practice. ‘Di naman siya mga lapses na ‘di mo na pwede mabalik.”
Beyond the immense and ever-expanding skillset a force like Quiambao already has, Robinson’s a fan of two particular attributes the reigning MVP has shown: accountability and the unending desire to learn.
“If you're the guy that always gets that basketball and touches it and makes decisions, you're really going to be exposed to making mistakes,” the champion La Salle shot-caller said.
“You give KQ the freedom, he's way better than you as a coach, so why do you have to battle it out with him? As long as he knows that he has to get everybody involved. Some of his turnovers, just to be fair, are ways for him to really look for his teammates.
“I’d rather take that kind of turnover coming from this guy rather than from him forcing his shots. It's part of the responsibility. What I like about KQ is, he always accepts it and always has a growth mindset approaching those kinds of things and always asks us, ano pa ba yung dapat kong i-improve, which is really nice.”
Play, learn, repeat
A champion side, in the rare face of adversity, would know that the first step to solving any problem is to acknowledge that there is one.
And that is exactly why Robinson gives himself, Quiambao, and the rest of the Green Archers affordances to make mistakes.
Winning might be the ultimate goal, but a pursuit of perfection won’t ever be the means that’ll strengthen a team, let alone the Green Archers, down to its core.
Taking key pointers from a few mistakes here and there, costly as they may be at times, will only make La Salle much more of a threat to the rest of the field than it already has been.
“This season will be the hardest for us, but what's important here is how we really take care of each other through those challenges. You have to give these guys a chance to grow. It's an opportunity for them,” Robinson said.
“These guys are allowed to make mistakes. Just like me, I made some mistakes. Sila rin mismo nag-aadmit ng kung anong mali nila and I just let them acknowledge their mistakes and learn from it.
“Grinding out doesn't guarantee you a win, but it will guarantee that you'll have a chance to win with.”
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