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De La Salle University Green Archers superstar Kevin Quiambao. Photo from UAAP Images.

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Romwel Anzures

ABS-CBN News

<div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1726474696485IMG_5003.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="De La Salle University superstar Kevin Quiambao. Photo from UAAP Images."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">De La Salle University superstar Kevin Quiambao. <em>Photo from UAAP Images.</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — De La Salle University&#x27;s title defense in the UAAP Season 87 men&#x27;s basketball tournament is off to a promising start.</p><p>The Green Archers are currently at the top of the UAAP with a 3-0 slate, after the cagers from Taft defeated National University, Adamson University, and rival Ateneo de Manila University in the first week of this year&#x27;s UAAP festivities.</p><p>&quot;We just stayed disciplined in what we do,&quot; said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson on what has been working well for the reigning champions after their 74-61 drubbing of the Blue Eagles on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.</p><p>La Salle flipped the switch on Ateneo in the second half — with the Archers even shackling the Eagles to only four points in the third canto — and Robinson explained that it was a matter of living up to being the worthy rivals of their Katipunan-based counterparts. </p><p>&quot;Ateneo threw a lot of freak defense on us. Good thing, we were able to get our bearings back to get the win,&quot; said Robinson.  </p><p>&quot;If it&#x27;s going to be La Salle-Ateneo, there&#x27;s no advantage. There&#x27;s no team that has strength over the other. It&#x27;s just making sure we come out there with all of our hearts, be strong enough, and be courageous enough because we need everybody&#x27;s help.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/9/15/uaap-la-salle-flexes-might-over-ateneo-in-lopsided-rivalry-game-2057">READ: La Salle flexes might over Ateneo in lopsided rivalry game</a></div><p>Heading the crew once again was reigning UAAP MVP Kevin Quiambao who had a usual day at the office with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. </p><p>&quot;Yung mindset ko coming into this game: Kailangan ko mag-step up. Nung game, medyo binatuhan kami ng defense ng Ateneo, bina-box-and-one nila ako the whole game,&quot; said the 6-foot-6 superstar. </p><p>&quot;Sinabi ko lang din sa mga kasama ko na: Be ready, dahil may mga moments na kayo malilibre. Dapat may confidence kayo to take that shot, and be disciplined lang,&quot; Quiambao added. </p><p>Despite the win, Robinson maintains that La Salle is still far from where they want to be if they look to complete a repeat of their title run in Season 86. </p><p>&quot;We always tell each other that all teams are gonna give us a fight, they&#x27;re always gonna bring out their best against us,&quot; he said. &quot;We don&#x27;t have control of what other teams will do, but we have control of what we&#x27;re gonna do — that&#x27;s what we&#x27;re just gonna focus on. We made a lot of mistakes which doesn&#x27;t make us a strong team, but all those mistakes will just get us better.&quot; </p><p>Two things that are certainly beneficial to La Salle&#x27;s continued success are how they have been keeping each other in check, and paying attention to the smallest of details, regardless of their roles in the team.</p><p>This was made clear during a first-half sequence between Robinson and Quiambao that eventually resulted in player and coach sharing an embrace on the court.</p><p>&quot;May sequence na na-turnover ako dahil nakita ko si Henry [Agunnane] na nagri-rim run. Sabi sakin ni Coach Topex: &#x27;Ba&#x27;t mo binabato kung saan-saan yung bola? Mas okay na itira mo.&#x27; So yung sequence na naka-dalawang pasa ako kay Raven [Gonzales], tapos nakatira ako ng three points, nung shumoot, tinignan ko kaagad si coach. Sabi ko: Ano sisisihin mo pa ulit ako? Na-shoot ko na!&quot; Quiambao said.</p><p>&quot;Yung mga moment na yun yung ine-enjoy ko, kasi every game, may mga moment ka na kailangan mong i-treasure,&quot; added the reigning MVP. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/9/15/watch-still-a-lot-to-work-on-for-unbeaten-la-salle-says-topex-2333">WATCH: Still a lot to work on for unbeaten La Salle, says Topex</a></div><div><span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1726474751545IMG_5002.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="De La Salle University head coach Topex Robinson and Green Archers superstar Kevin Quiambao. Photo from UAAP Images."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">De La Salle University head coach Topex Robinson and Green Archers superstar Kevin Quiambao. <em>Photo from UAAP Images.</em></span></span></span></div><p>Robinson shared his own version of the story and expounded on Quiambao&#x27;s point.</p><p>&quot;If you notice, yung mga early turnovers niya, it&#x27;s passing the ball with guys that are not ready. Sabi ko sa kanya: Hawakan mo na lang muna. Sabi niya: &#x27;Hindi coach, ititira ko yun.&#x27; Sabi ko edi itira mo. Sabi niya: Kahit malayo, ititra ko ha.&#x27; Sabi ko: &#x27;Itira mo.&#x27; which he did,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Sabi ko nga tama pa rin ako. Tinira niya, na-shoot niya. That&#x27;s what we were joking about. But again, for this guy right here, he&#x27;s always gonna make you look good. That&#x27;s the blessing of having a KQ and Mike [Phillips]. A lot of times, we just try to remind each other. [KQ] always reminds me if I&#x27;m getting so emotional, [Mike] reminds me also if I&#x27;m losing it. We always try to help each other out because we get lost, especially me.&quot; </p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s really nice to have that kind of relationship with these guys wherein we kinda flattened the hierarchy. I&#x27;m not the head coach, I just happen to have the title but it&#x27;s everybody.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We always use: Us, Ours, and We. That&#x27;s really the key to this,&quot; he said, emphasizing the collective effort that goes into their victories. </p><p>The Green Archers return to action on Sunday, September 22 against the University of the East.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hqjEjI4HC04?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>De La Salle University's title defense in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament is off to a promising start.</p>

De La Salle University's title defense in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament is off to a promising start.

Us, Ours, and We: Minute details, collective effort are keys to La Salle's early success

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Us, Ours, and We: Minute details, collective effort are keys to La Salle's early success

Romwel Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 16, 2024 05:27 PM PHT

Read More:

Basketball

ABSSports

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UAAP Season 87

UAAP Basketball

UAAP

La Salle

Kevin Quiambao

Topex Robinson

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