WINNING is the ultimate goal, but La Salle coach Topex Robinson made it clear that players' welfare remains his utmost priority.
That couldn't be more timely with the return of Kean Baclaan in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball Final Four, with the soft-spoken mentor making it clear that he'll never jeopardize his players' health in favor of glory.
"We're not gonna play a player who's not 100-percent," he said. "If you're not 100-percent, that means you're not ready. We don't want to compromise a players' career just because we want to win games."
Somehow, Robinson has slowly but surely gotten his assets back with Mason Amos coming back at the tailend of the eliminations and Baclaan returning on Wednesday's 87-77 Final Four win against top seed National U.
It's a welcome sign for the embattled Green Archers who had to scratch and claw their way to the postseason after fearing to have lost their two assets due to the very same Grade 2 MCL tear.
And you bet, Robinson assured their faithful that La Salle will "always make sure that we'll protect these valuable assets that we have."
"We're clear with these players to focus with their recovery and hopefully, things will pan out. We could've shortcutted the process because of the pressures to deliver, but we opted to do the right thing," he said.
Fortunately, the players have made a full recovery that they are not subjected to any minutes restriction, yet Robinson said that he'll always go by what the doctors tell them.
"It's always depending on what the medical team tells us. Kung ano lang ang kaya, yun lang ang ibibigay namin sa players," he said.
Lady Luck smiles upon La Salle
By doing it the right way, destiny sure has smiled in favor of the Taft side, as it gave ample time for Amos and Baclaan to recover - from the rescheduled game brought upon by Typhoon Uwan in early November to the Cheerdance Competition pushing back the start of the Final Four to Dec. 3.
"I guess all the stars are aligning for us," remarked Robinson, pointing to this current run of good luck for the Green Archers, while still acknowledging the threat posed by the Bulldogs who swept them in the elims.
"Obviously, the game on Saturday will be hard. This team will not roll down and die. We just want to make sure we're humbled by this experience, we just want to learn, and bring all of these moments of learning to that game."
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