EVEN with new faces and a new season, the ghost of the free throw line continues to haunt La Salle.
Since UAAP Season 87, freebies haven't been the strong suit of the Green Archers, factoring in more than a few losses, as well as making even wins more challenging than they should have been.
For a perennial championship contender, shooting just 61.2-percent from the charity stripe could - and would - prove costly should it figure in tight games.
That much was true on Sunday at Mall of Asia, as their free throw failures reared their ugly heads once more up against Season 88 top dog National U.
The Green Archers made good on barely half of their free throws, going 20-of-36 in an eight-point loss.
READ: NU still No. 1 after passing tough test put up by La Salle
With that, the green-and-white stayed as the second-worst free throw-shooting squad, just slightly above University of Santo Tomas at 59.7-percent.
Though they have actually gone out of their way to address their troubles through the addition legendary Taft sharpshooter Renren Ritualo to the staff, they are nonetheless far from where they want to be.
“Sabi ko nga, if you’re gonna play against the No. 1 team, yung mga ganung bagay is gonna be magnified,” head coach Topex Robinson uttered after they saw their four-game win run get stopped.
“So at this point, we talked about it, aware naman sila, we just have to live by it.”
The best thing for La Salle is free
Although La Salle still hasn’t gotten the results it wants from the line, Robinson’s belief in his wards remains unwavering.
“You’re in a team that everybody is really watching everything that you're doing. I cannot lose faith in my players, so I don't wanna stir the pot about it. We’ve been addressing it, I cannot make an answer about it,” he said.
And rather than hoping for a quick fix to their free throw failures, the Green Archers tactician has instead opted to move forward and veer away from the criticisms that the team has long been catching.
As he put it, “Other teams have issues also with free throws. Everybody has their opinion, and it’s not gonna affect me on how I'm gonna handle this team, so they can say what they’re gonna say.“
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