Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Lyceum coach Topex Robinson is well aware of the monumental task he has to face entering the NCAA Season 93 Finals.
After steering the Pirates to their first ever playoff appearance, the youthful mentor has been stern in keeping his wards in check for the best-of-three championship clash against San Beda, which starts on Friday.
“I guess my job as the coach is to put them in the right frame of mind. The excitement will always be there, but it’s a matter of channeling it to positivity. We’re more excited than nervous, to be honest,” he said.
“We know it’s our first time to be in this level and it’s really an unchartered territory for us. But rather than being scared, we should be excited. We know that we got nothing to lose and we’re happy where we are. We know we wanted to be in Finals and we did everything in the best way that we can.”
Robinson knows how the Red Lions operate, and he even served as an analyst for the clash between San Beda and San Sebastian in the final level of the stepladder semis on Tuesday.
And the third-year mentor could only derive one thing from their Finals date.
“It’s obvious that (San Beda) is determined to win,” he quipped. “At the end of the day, they’re the stronger team, they have more experience than us and it showed against San Sebastian. With coach Boyet (Fernandez) there, and they have a good group of guys that are motivated to show that they are the defending champions, we know what we have to face.”
Robinson had only one more reminder for Lyceum: to stay the course and continue what it has been doing all season long — playing to inspire.
“I just remind them of our vision, which is to inspire others. Of course, we want to be on the winning side, but victory or not, our vision will not stop,” he said. “We’ll still do what we have do and our dedication will never change. It’s really an opportunity for us to inspire people. That will never change.”