No more pressure for La Salle in chase for another title

La Salle’s Aldin Ayo (Coaches of the Year). Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Aldin Ayo arrived in the UAAP as a champion coach in the NCAA and he continued his impressive start after leading De La Salle arguably the most dominant championship run in recent memory.

La Salle overpowered its opponents with an average winning margin of 16.8 points en route to a stellar 13-1 eliminations slate and an unblemished record in the playoffs.

READ: La Salle’s Game 1 win all about defense, says Ayo

Ayo’s UAAP championship earned him one of Coach of the Year awards in the 2017 Collegiate Basketball Awards, his second after Letran in the NCAA a year prior.

Despite the expectations that come along with the accolades, Ayo said the pressure is out of the way for him and Green Archers’ come the new UAAP season.

“There’s no pressure actually. All I’m thinking right now is how to get another one [championship],” joked Ayo Thursday at Montgomery Place.

READ: La Salle embraced title pressure, says Ayo

“It’s actually less of a pressure now because it will shift to the teams who performed well this season.”

Ayo said teams like Adamson, runner-up Ateneo, Far Eastern University, and National University will be the ones to carry the burden for 80.

Ayo knows other teams have scouted their “Mayhem” defense, which led the Green Archers to best offensive (97.8 points per game) and defensive ratings (81.0 points), so the 39-year-old head coach will now concentrate on improving his offense even more.

READ: Returning Ayo proud of ‘responsible’ Archers

“We’ll focus more on execution because last season we won the championship without peaking, defensively we we’re okay,” said Ayo. “We want to be unpredictable, do new things, be unconventional, and do a lot of crazy things.”