TOPEX Robinson has always exuded trust on Kevin Quiambao that he offered no excuses even after an anemic second half from the soon-to-be back-to-back UAAP MVP.
"Nobody was blaming nobody. We've gone this far as a united front and we'll not let any negativity get in our way," the La Salle coach said on the heels of their 73-65 Game One defeat to the University of the Philippines in the Season 87 men's basketball finals on Sunday.
READ: QMB a difference-maker as UP draws first blood vs La Salle
After a sizzling 18-point first half, Quiambao found himself caged in the last two frames, missing his last six shots, as he was held to just a solitary point.
Robinson came to the defense of his star player and credited the Fighting Maroons defense which keyed in on Quiambao and kept him in check.
"They did a great job defensively stopping KQ and we were not able to make adjustments down the line," he said, lauding the efforts mostly of rookie Jacob Bayla who drew the assignment in the second half.
"At this point, it's just a matter of learning from this experience."
Korea Quiambao?
Robinson also shunned the notion that talks about Quiambao's future, particularly that of a supposed Korean Basketball League (KBL) offer, affected the performance of the Green Archers and their top gun.
READ: Kevin Quiambao set to fly out to Korea immediately after UAAP Finals
"I don't want to comment on that," he said. "We'll play this championship as a big family and we understand that you're gonna go through rough patches."
Despite the distractions, Quiambao still churned out 19 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.
He, however, politely begged off from being interviewed post-game.
Nonetheless, the La Salle shot-caller said that UP was just the better team in this Game One and it's up to the Taft side to respond if they want to keep their back-to-back title drive going.
"They wanted it more than us. They did a lot of good things defensively, they played as a team," he said.
"We just need to get back as a team come Game Two."
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