STICKS and stones have been thrown La Salle’s way throughout UAAP Season 87.
But under head coach Topex Robinson’s watch, the Taft squad refuses to be deterred until the very end.
Robinson’s in-game spat with UP’s Reyland Torres and Kevin Quiambao’s ‘ligang labas’ sojourns as well as his post-UAAP destination are among a few issues the defending champions have had to deal with on the road to a second straight finals appearance.
READ: No more sleepless nights as KQ comes back to life in UAAP finals
Ironic as it may sound for the Green Archers to have had targets on their backs all-season long, they’ve always found a way to shut out the noise.
Here’s how they do it, time and time again.
La Salle's 'circle of safety’
Robinson broke down La Salle’s simple pre-game routine: a typical huddle which he considers to embody the Green Archers being a safe space for each and every member of the team.
Anybody not in that circle, and all the noise outside of it, couldn’t mean less.
“We always start our game with that circle. That's the circle of safety for us. With that circle, we protect each other. If you're not part of that circle, that means whatever it is that you say or you do will not affect us. Those are the people that matter to us, and within that circle also are the people that came before us,” said Robinson.
“That bond just keeps us getting stronger together, and we remind each other in that circle to keep it tight and not letting anybody get in that. We always try to quiet the outside noise as much as it's so loud.”
The thrust that keeps La Salle’s circle afloat? Letting go of the past and letting the present run its course without letting the future get in the way.
“We enjoy the moment [because] the moment is the only thing we could hold onto. We don't regret the past anymore and we don't worry about the future because we're just trying to sink into the moment,” La Salle’s champion mentor said.
Such an ethos is exactly why the Green Archers are still alive with one last shot to defend the UAAP men’s basketball championship.
“What happened in that fourth quarter in those last three minutes of the game was just so beautiful, seeing that crowd, [and even the] UP crowd," Robinson said.
“We were all over the place already when we were making mistakes, pero sabi nga namin, this experience will never happen again.”
Second date with destiny?
Come what may on Sunday, Robinson carries the hope that La Salle will not only fight for glory, but also seize what will be a special moment under the brightest lights and grandest crowd at the Big Dome.
“We're not going to let the worries of the future or the regret of the past stop us from enjoying it, and that's how we're going to approach Sunday. We're just going to enjoy it.
Robinson furthered, “The crowd will be crazy, but that's what we're here for. The reason why you play the finals is for those kinds of moments.
“You prepare for those moments and nobody could take that away from you, so we’ll just keep on enjoying it.”
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