Cameroonian student-athlete Ben Mbala and the deep De La Salle University Green Archers line-up dominated the UAAP Season 79 Men’s Basketball tournament for 12 straight games, winning by an imposing margin of 15.8 points per game. Due to their dominance, the team were pegged to sweep the entire elimination round — a feat last achieved by the UE Red Warriors back in the 70th Season of the UAAP.
However, their streak, and the outright finals berth that comes with a sweep, all came crashing down after the Green Archers absorbed an 83-71 loss at the hands of arch-rivals Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles. Moreover, the once-unsolvable riddle that was La Salle’s Mayhem defense was decoded.
“They were able to disrupt our offense and get stops. We couldn’t make our shots,” said Mbala, who is the MVP race leader, after the game.
“They had easy transition baskets and they shot the ball well. We couldn’t do anything about it.”
Mbala struggled mightily during his 31 minutes of game time during the game. The league-leader in points, rebounds, and blocked shots went just 5-of-13 from the field for 17 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and recorded just one swat. Moreover, Ateneo’s quick double-teams forced him to commit seven costly turnovers.
However, the 21-year-old put the blame on himself for the downfall of his team. During the game, Mbala could be seen forcing a few shots, even attempting a long two during the second frame to try and break his cold spell.
“I felt like I played poorly. I just shot less than 50 percent from the field. I wasn’t really able to make good adjustments since I had seven turnovers,” he lamented.
“These are things that I shouldn’t have been doing especially in an Ateneo-La Salle [game].”
His coach, though, was quick to defend Mbala, saying that he still saw maximum effort from his anchor.
“Well, tao lang din naman yun, nagkakamali. Pero kung makikita mo, nandun din naman effort e. Medyo, nahirapan din naman sa mga tawag. Pero alam naman na din niya yun, given nang talagang sasakyan siya, tanggap na rin naman ni Ben yun,” first year La Salle head coach Aldin Ayo remarked.
“One of those days, but you cannot question the effort of Ben.”
But Mbala is not taking the loss in stride, knowing that they are now in the midst of the most crucial part of the season.
“We have to be accountable of what we did,” the Cameroonian big man said. “It’s just a loss. We just have to learn from it. We can’t live in the past.”
And he wants the opportunity to face Ateneo one more time in the playoffs.
“I really hope we meet them in the finals or in the semis for us to show them that we won’t back down.”
