LA Salle caused quite a stir in Philippine basketball last month after taking down two PBA teams in the 39th Kadayawan Festival Invitational in Davao where it competed as part of its preparation for its title defense in the UAAP Season 87.
The win against Converge and Phoenix sent shockwaves around the local basketball firmanent, particularly in the UAAP, as the Green Archers firmly established themselves as the team to beat when the college league opens in a few weeks.
The surprise was not in the victories, well, yes, they were impressive. But observers were also awed by the manner in which the Green Archers won. The team went toe-to-toe with hardened professionals, fought them shot-for-shot and matched their physicality with their own brand of aggresiveness.
And that was important for La Salle coach Topex Robinson.
In one instance, La Salle’s CJ Austria got really physical with Phoenix’s Tyler Tio and baited the two-year PBA veteran into committing a technical during one physical enounter.
Then La Salle bigs Kevin Quiambao, Mike Phillips and Henry Agunane showed the stuff they were made of as they went up against against known bangers like Rain or Shine's Beau Belga and hulking imports from other teams and valiantly stood their ground.
“I was really surprised with how these players were really confident to slug it out with those guys. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, it speaks well of what you guys are putting in as far as preparing your bodies hard,” Robinson said.
“They were posting up PBA players. And sabi ko sa kanila, that’s the testament of the work you put in. The amount of time and energy that they’re putting in building up their bodies to match up with those players,” he added.
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“Of course iba pa rin yan pag everyday mo nakakalaban ang PBA but it gave them a glimpse of [the results] nung investment nila to really workout. To beef up, to muscle up.”
But the path to those wins against the pros was not paved in quick and easy manner. There was plenty of hardwork that went into it and some fans may just look at the score and praise the Archers for a job well done.
For Robinson, joining the tournament has one simple objective: it is to expose the Archers to very tough situations, play against teams above their league and hope they learn lessons from the experience.
Besides these, Robinson wants his players to see how pros go about their task, make quick decisions and respond to certain situations.
Soaking it all in
One of those that appeared very eager to learn from the PBA pros was Mike Phillips, hands down a highly coveted draft pick if he decides to join the PBA one day.
He's a coachable 6-foot-8 forward and possesses a developing offensive bag that makes him one of those rare talents who will not need experience to shine in the PBA. He will be ready on Game 1.
But despite the kudos he gets for his all around game, Philips, who has two years left in college, remains humble and thinks of himself as a player who still needs to learn a lot.
Instead, Phillips is taking the opportunity to learn from other players, particularly pros, such as when they played in Davao, he asked them how they made it to the pros and what it takes to dominate at the very pinnacle of Philippine basketball.
“In those games, I really made an effort. Pag may deadball, pag may free throw I talk to them, I say, “Hey, pare, kuya, how did you make it here? Paano ka nakapasok sa PBA? Anong ginagawa mo araw araw?” Phillips shared.
“Yan ang gusto ko sa mga PBA players. Even though we’re going hard (at each other), even though they’re really showing us what pro level is, they’re also kind of guiding us still, marami akong natutunan pero yung experience na yun, ibang klase talaga.”
Phillips singled out 2023 PBA Rookie of the Year and former NCAA MVP Justin Arana who gave him fits during La Salle's match-up against Converge.
Arana dropped 26 points and seven boards in Converge’s 120-112 loss, but Phillips more than proved that he already belongs there by dropping a solid two-way game of 17 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Still, Phillips couldn’t help but marvel at Arana – particularly with the way he just carves up space in the post, and the speed that he plays in.
“Si Justin Arana. Idol ko siya. Sobrang idol ko siya,” he said.
“We’re talking about his college days in Arelllano, and grabe yung tempo niya, paano niya ginagamit yung katawan niya. I kept asking him “kuya kuya pano mo ginagawa yan?” He really kind of [helped] me with that.”
The Kadayawan tournament was so fruitful for Phillips and La Salle that even if the results didn’t go their way, they’d still consider it a success. The team lost to Rain or Shine in the finals.
The fact that they already went mano-a-mano against these pro players and got their admiration in return is already a big win for them as they go for back-to-back titles come the UAAP.
“From the confidence that it gave us, just being able to go up against those guys, and having that mutual respect towards each other, that really gives us some boost heading into the season,” he said.
It might never happen again
While he never really had doubts about the talent and the skill of his players, Robinson admitted that he was surprised with the way his players went at the more experienced pros.
The soft-spoken mentor shared how prior to the tournament, the organizers were worried about his team as they were to go up against pros when they've only played against college teams before.
“Coming into the tournament, the organizers were telling us ‘coach okay lang ba na ilaro kayo against PBA teams? Baka masaktan kayo doon.’ But we surprised everybody,” Robinson said.
“In a sense it humbled my players, na ganito pala ang PBA. Sarap ng experience. Even for me as a coach, to see my players against those players that you just mentioned, ang sarap naman,” he shared.
“How I wish I had those experiences when I was playing. It makes them more grateful for where they are right now.”
One thing that Robinson will ask of his players is not to forget to thank those responsible for giving them the opportunity to compete in tournaments like this. He said the experience will not only help the team in their UAAP title defense, but also the players as they build their respective basketball careers.
They have to savor the experience and all the lessons from this tournament because this might be the last time pros go up against hungry collegiate squads with lots to prove.
“It’s something that they can bring with them as they go on with their respective basketball careers. Minsan lang yan na may makalaban silang PBA players. Now when they watch the games in the PBA, medyo nakikita na nila sila, so parang alam na nila na “Ah nakalaban ko yan.” So may knowledge and experience na sila na ah ganito pala,” he said.
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