Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Ben Mbala looks back on epic alley-oop from Torres: ‘It was a bad pass’


Ben Mbala’s short yet dominant UAAP stint with De La Salle University was full of highlight-worthy plays.

One big example? The thunderous one-handed alley-oop jam that he pulled off during the Green Archers’ encounter versus Ateneo De Manila University to close out the first round of Season 79, his maiden campaign with the green-and-white.

DLSU — then up big already, 74-55 — had made a stop approaching the final two minutes of the third canto. Kib Montalbo got the ball and immediately passed it to Thomas Torres, who was already on the other side of the court.

Torres received the rock, dribbled it once, then threw a lob to a charging Mbala. The big man caught the ball with his outstretched arm and slammed it in hard — much to the delight of the La Salle faithful inside Mall of Asia Arena.

Torres said in an interview moments after the match — which the Green Archers won convincingly, 97-81 — that it was a “not-so-good pass”. On the other hand, the 6-foot-5 Mbala begged to differ and said that it was all fine.

About four years later, though, Mbala admitted on Tiebreaker Vodcasts’ The Prospects Pod, presented by SMART on Friday, that it really was a bad pass by the 5-foot-9 playmaker.

“It was a bad one,” said Mbala, drawing laughter from podcast hosts Ateneo all-time great and NLEX Road Warriors star Kiefer Ravena and seasoned sports scribes Randolph Leongson and Norman Riego.

Mbala explained that he usually catches lobs with both hands for security reasons. But Torres, he described, launched the pass “too backward”, making him catch the ball with his right arm extended before throwing it down.

#ReadMore  Fernandez, Lanete say flat start made it difficult for NLEX anew

“I was running behind him, and usually in my mind I want to catch it with two hands. But then he just threw it too backward and I had to reach for it. And as soon as I felt the ball in my hand, I just brought it back,” he said.

“It happened really fast. I’ve had a lot of alley-oops with Thomas, but that one, I got to tell you, I felt like it was a bad pass.”

Still, that sequence became one of the best UAAP highlights in recent memory. And for the Cameroonian forward, what made wonders in that play was the connection he has with Torres.

“He’s so used to throw me alley-oops. We do it in practice. If you don’t get to know your point guard, then you won’t have that connection, so numerous times during practice we did that,” Mbala said.

Mbala shared that he hadn’t been very close with Torres in the beginning, but he got to know him better and that, eventually, translated to the hardwood. Hence the execution of exciting plays like that one-handed catch-and-slam.

UAAP-79-DLSU-vs.-ADMU-Torres-0573 Ben Mbala looks back on epic alley-oop from Torres: 'It was a bad pass' Basketball DLSU News UAAP  - philippine sports news

“In the beginning when I got to La Salle, he was the friend of the superstar, Jeron Teng, and AVO (Arnold Van Opstal). The little guy, he said, ‘rookie’ [to me] and I was like I’m not a rookie, I can show you what I can do,” he recalled.

‘But we got close because we both went up to Business Management. We were classmates in almost all of our classes. You imagine being classmates with someone from Monday to Thursday, and then have to do homework, working on your assignment all the time. Somehow you’ll create a bond. And then we decided to hang out not just in classes, but you know, hang out, going out together, doing stuff. That’s when I got to know him as a person.

“When I got to know the guy, he was really a cool guy. Plus, he was my point guard. You got to be smart. If you want those passes, you have to be friends with your point guard,” added the one-time UAAP gold medalist and two-time league MVP, smiling.

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

When the De La Salle University faithful hoped and prayed for a hero before Game Two of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament...

Basketball

De La Salle University basically got manhandled in Game One of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Finals by University of the Philippines. They...

Basketball

Evan Nelle had a bad shooting night during Game 2 of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Finals – but that did not mean...

Basketball

On the day Kevin Quiambao received his UAAP Season 86 MVP award, he proved why he is the Most Valuable Player for De La...

Basketball

Joaqui Manuel may have only played for four minutes on the floor for De La Salle University in Game Two of the UAAP Season...

Basketball

On the bad end of the most lopsided Finals game in the Final Four era last Wednesday, De La Salle University displayed its heart...

Basketball

Topex Robinson is in danger of losing another finals series in his collegiate coaching career. Once upon a time, Robinson was the head coach...

Uncategorized

Evan Nelle admitted that he needs to raise his game after De La Salle University lost 67-97 to University of the Philippines in game...

Advertisement