After eliminating the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 82-75, to advance to their second straight UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals, second-year De La Salle University Green Archers head coach Aldin Ayo breathe a huge sigh of relief. Compared to his rookie year in La Salle, the Green Archers have figured in many close games, while the team needed to overcome adversities off the court to get to the Finals.
But as champions do, Ayo and the Green Archers flipped a switch in the second round. After losing twice in the first seven games of the season, La Salle went on a tear, as they will enter the last dance armed with an eight-game winning streak.
“We were focused. Same thing. We’re just focused on the game plan, especially on defense,” reflected Ayo, “Because when we were in the first round, there were lots of distractions, simple schemes on defense, sometimes we cannot execute, we tend to gamble a lot, and we were very undisciplined when we were in the first round. But they became different come the second round, because they just surrendered to the system, and overcame the distractions.”
What other distractions was the soft-spoken mentor talking about?
“Dengue is a distraction,” Ayo said, pertaining to sophomore Aljun Melecio’s battle with the illness last October. “Playing in the national team is a distraction,” he added, as reigning Most Valuable Player Ben Mbala missed the first two games of the season to play for Cameroon in the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket.
“Flu, fever, those are distractions.”
Knowing that this season will be tougher than his maiden campaign, Ayo equipped himself with added tools to combat the advancements his rival coaches were making. If the student-athletes of La Salle re-embraced his system late, he had to adapt to technology.
“Wala namang madali dito sa Manila eh. NCAA, UAAP, last year, this year, competitive ‘yung liga. So no room for complacency. We just have to keep on working. The coaches here are really, really good. So ubusan. Kahit kami sa coaching staff, ubusan kami,” shared the reigning UAAP/NCAA Press Corps Coach of the Year.
“Good thing madami kami ngayon, pumapasok yung scouting report, papasok yung tendencies. Because we didn’t have that last season, we just relied on our defense last season.”
With this, the Green Archers have given themselves a chance to watch the other bracket of the semifinals. They will either face arch-rivals Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles or fierce opponents Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the Finals.
When asked who they prefer to face, Ayo’s response was neither.
“Whoever is deserving. Sabi nila, be careful with what you wish for. Kasi if you pick someone, it adds to the pressure, because pinili mo tapos yun ang kalaban mo, right away hindi pa nag-uumpisa yung laro, motivated na yung kalaban mo,” said Ayo.
“So whoever is deserving, we’re going to play against them.”
