La Salle’s Ben Mbala. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
For most, reaching a double-double is an achievement.
But for players like La Salle’s super import Ben Mbala, who make a living stuffing the stat sheet, it isn’t always good enough.
Mbala had 17 points and 15 rebounds but what stood out for the Cameroonian center are the shots he missed and his turnovers.
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“I feel like I played poorly. I shot less than 50 percent from the field and I wasn’t able to make good adjustments since I had seven turnovers,” Mbala pointed out after La Salle absorbed its first loss of the season, an 83-71 defeat at the hands of Ateneo Saturday night.
“These are things that I shouldn’t be doing. I have to go back and keep working on my game. I can’t let this bring me down.”
The 6-foot-7 Mbala shot just 5-of-13 from the field and had seven turnovers. He was also saddled with foul trouble and picked up his fourth with still 6:30 left with La Salle desperately trying to catch up.
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“Tao lang din naman siya nagkakamali pero kung makikita mo nandoon naman yung effort,” said his head coach Aldin Ayo. “One of those days, but you cannot question the effort of Ben.”
La Salle and Ateneo now have a win each in their elimination round match-ups with the Archers taking the first round also in dominating fashion 97-81.
With vengeance in his mind, Mbala wants to face the Blue Eagles again. Perhaps in the Final Four or better yet, for the championship.
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“We always have to learn from losing. You cannot win everyday. That’s something we have to accept and just go back and work harder,” he said.
“That would be a good game for us (against Ateneo). I think we need games like this. We played them in the Filoil twice. I really hope we meet them again in the finals or semis just to show them that we won’t back down. We just lost today but it doesn’t mean that we’re a different team. We’re still La Salle. We just have to comeback stronger.”