De La Salle University entered the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament as a consensus title favorite alongside defending champion University of the Philippines.
But midway through the season, the Green Archers have yet to live up to that billing.
They slumped to back-to-back defeats — an 81-74 loss to the Ateneo Blue Eagles on October 5 and an 82-78 setback to the National University Bulldogs on Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion — to drop below .500 with a 2-3 record, sitting in solo fifth place.
Their two victories came against Adamson University (62-60) and Far Eastern University (74-72), while they also fell to University of Santo Tomas (83-74).
Despite the early struggles, head coach Topex Robinson remains steadfast in his belief that La Salle can still turn things around — just as they did in Season 86, the year they last won the championship.
“There’s no way for us but to, again, keep on persevering and fighting. We could have had all the reasons to just go down and die, but I guess that’s the least of our priorities right now,” said Robinson.
“We have a lot of basketball to play, a lot of opportunities to bounce back. What’s important is we stick together and go through this harder this time especially with injuries to our players but it is what it is. As long as we have life, we have chance. We’re not gonna give up on this.”
In Season 86, the Green Archers also fell to a 3-3 slate after losses to NU and UP, before rattling off eight straight wins to finish the eliminations at 11-3 and eventually capturing the championship.
Robinson hopes to rekindle that same resilience and mental fortitude in his current squad.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
However, the Green Achers are still in the process of finding cohesion.
La Salle’s “Big Four” of transferees — Jacob Cortez, Kean Baclaan, Luis Pablo, and Mason Amos — have yet to fully mesh within Robinson’s system that revolves around the energy and leadership of cornerstone Mike Phillips.
“Actually, in Season 86 we went on a losing streak. So again, we’ve had this type of situation with the preseason. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, it’s just gonna make us better,” Robinson said.
He also emphasized the importance of tuning out external criticism as the team goes through growing pains.
“Trying to quiet outside noise, obviously sabi ko nga yung kapalit nitong nire-represent natin… When you go through this kind of struggle, you’re gonna hear it from everybody, everybody will cast it out on you,” he continued.
“Obviously, it’s our responsibility and we’ll always protect our players. Whatever people outside of our circle will say, it’s not gonna affect us as long as it cannot touch us.
“We keep on quieting outside noise and we need to get better. We’ve played better compared to our last game, we fought for four quarters, for 40 minutes of grueling action against one of the top teams in college right now. A lot of things to learn. We’re a young team, it’s nice to make mistakes this early so we still have a chance to get better.”
Adding to their woes was the knee injury suffered by Mason Amos, who was carried off the court with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter after NU’s Gelo Santiago inadvertently fell on his legs while fighting through a screen.
While still confident in his group’s long-term potential, Robinson and the Green Archers will need to regroup fast. A crucial test awaits on Wednesday when they face the University of the East Red Warriors at the SM Mall of Asia Arena — a must-win game if La Salle hopes to turn their season around.
#WATCH: Topex Robinson gives an update on Mason Amos’s status after that scary crash with Gelo Santiago 🏹🏀#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/2R23xgKfUd
📹 @ErnestTuazon /Tiebreaker Times#UAAPSeason88 pic.twitter.com/BkWD8XvfFG
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) October 12, 2025
