LA Salle head coach Topex Robinson is convinced that almost nothing on the hardcourt is left to chance as every action is a product of choice.
And his own guy Mason Amos’ collision with National U’s Gelo Santiago was no exception.
While he didn’t place the blame directly on the Bulldogs forward, Robinson noted that some of his spur-of-the-moment decisions in that sequence with Amos were bound to have consequences — that being the five-game ban he’s currently serving.
“These are grown men. Grown men make grown-men decisions. And with that decision, with those kinds of decisions come circumstances,” Robinson said.
“If you are trying to hurt intentionally a player, there's no room for that in the UAAP or even in basketball because that's really something that's not really taught, I'm sure, by any coach, to really intentionally hurt a player so he made it on his own, I'm sure.
Robinson once pled to have UE’s Wello Lingolingo’s three-game ban reduced after an inadvertent fall on Kean Baclaan that abruptly ended the latter’s season.
But he’s not exactly singing the same tune when it comes to Santiago.
“I guess he lives by that decision of his [Santiago]. If you're hurting a player that could even put his health in despair, I think that's really a decision you have to make,” Robinson said.
“There's nothing that you can do about it but to live by those decisions.”
Pragmatic approach to playing physical
As far as circumstances go, Robinson has seen how far the extremes of the physical game of basketball can go in his time as a PBA and NCAA coach.
And with the UAAP, the champion mentor makes it a point to preach balance and control to his players, helping them understand the threshold of in-game physicality within the parameters set by the league.
Part of that entails recalibrating their approach to align with the league’s officiating as of late, thereby positioning themselves advantageously in key moments.
“I’ve coached in the NCAA, and on that league, it's more physical. I guess right now, since we have a new commissioner and obviously he has his own rules, I think the players are just adjusting to that kind of physicality, which again, is part of basketball,” Robinson explained.
“You go through that and that's really good. Just the earlier you adjust to the falls, the better it is for your team. What we could do as coaches, especially on our team, we remind our players that it's allowed. I mean, the referees are on point about it.
“It's not like the referees are trying to cheat you with all those falls, but it's there. They've been consistent about it. They've been calling it on the dot. We have to adjust to the officiating.”
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