Green Archers head coach Aldin Ayo was not in a celebratory mood after La Salle’s advanced to the Finals.
For the majority of the regular season, the De La Salle University Green Archers were a well-oiled machine. From a bunch of blue chip recruits playing the game with flair and finesse, head coach Aldin Ayo, the architect of the “mayhem” defense, turned them into blue-collar workers. They grinded out their opponents on the defensive end while displaying crisp ball movement that found the open man.
The top-seeded Green Archers averaged 14.6 assists per outing that led to a league-best 42 percent shooting clip during the regular season. However, there was little semblance of that team when they came out Wednesday afternoon, facing the upstart Adamson Soaring Falcons in the semifinals.
“We were not executing our game plan. And pare, nakaka-bad trip. Talagang I was very disappointed with how they played in the first half,” expressed Ayo after La Salle’s 69-64 win against Adamson to advance to the Finals.
Led by Jeron Teng, the Green Archers had to scratch and claw their way to the win. Even if they won the rebounding battle, the Green-and-White committed 26 turnovers, 2.3 turnovers above their average. Moreover, the ball movement they prided themselves in suddenly vanished as they only had three assists in the game.
Kib Montalbo leads the league with 3.0 assists per game but had just one assist against Adamson
Ayo, who had never called out any of his players during his days with Letran back in the 91st Season of the NCAA, could not hide his disgust of the selfish play of his team.
“Execution during the game because during the practice, ginagawa namin yan. We kept on simulating everything during practice. Now the problem is, how do you put those schemes during the game,” the 39-year-old mentor raised with Teng sitting beside him.
“Yun ang nagiging problema namin. Bakit pag may camera na, may TV na, may mga crowd na, bakit nagbabago yung galaw ng mga bata? Yun ang problema namin. Bakit may mga players na ayaw mamasa pag may TV na or pag may camera na? Yun ang problema namin.”
And even if he and his team are just two wins away from taking their ultimate goal, the champion coach was just in a foul mood to even think about the achievement they notched.
“Sa totoo lang, hindi pa ako nahimasmasan eh. Ang sama ng laro namin and Coach Glenn was comforting me, ang sabi ko di ako papayag na ganun-ganun lang ang laro.
“Kasi ‘di naman ito ‘yung nakarating tayo sa Finals, okay na. It’s all about winning the championship. Sabi ko nga sa mga bata, you have to be accountable, and you have to do your part, because lahat kami ginagawa lahat eh. Yung suporta ng managers, yung practice plan ni-lay down lahat, yung game plan, ni-lay down lahat. It’s just a matter of executing those schemes,” he furthered.
And for the Green Archers, this is the worst time to go back to the bad habits they used to do two seasons ago.
