Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
It may just be the preseason, but La Salle coach Aldin Ayo admitted that La Salle’s 80-78 loss to Ateneo on Sunday in the 2017 Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup left a stinging pain.
“It’s like already the UAAP. These are the kinds of losses that really sting,” Ayo said.
With things getting heated at times, the intensity is comparable to like any other Ateneo-La Salle game before. Regardless of what’s at stake, both teams just won’t flinch as they refused to bow down to their fierce rivals.
Still, Ayo noted that the Green Archers must lick their wounds and come out better after this heartbreaking loss, while also picking up valuable lessons going forward to the upcoming UAAP season.
“We saw that we still lack a lot in terms of maturity, especially with the rookies. There were defensive situations that the rookies weren’t able to follow my instructions. In those three times, the ball went to the corner and Ateneo made those shots and made us pay,” he said.
Not helping La Salle’s cause was its health issues as the team missed the services of Kib Montalbo, Prince Rivero, and Brent Paraiso for the game, forcing Ayo to extend the minutes of Ben Mbala and Aljun Melecio, who were the lone bright spots.
“We can’t get anything from our team. The rookies we had were capable of playing, but they seemed overwhelmed with the hype that comes with Ateneo-La Salle. They still have to adjust to how they are performing in our practices,” he said.
Ayo said that regardless of who the Green Archers’ foe is, the team must come in motivated to get the victory as he tries to cultivate the same winning culture he has ingrained last year in Taft.
“Every game, we’re motivated to play, so it’s not necessarily who’s the favored and who’s the underdog. When the light is on, we have to perform,” he said. “I told them, with the way we practiced the whole week, we deserved to win, but with the manner we lost, this is a good loss for us. For sure, we’re going to learn from this.”