Melecio says La Salle lacked communication in Game 1 loss

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Communication is key to winning.

And for Aljun Melecio, that’s exactly what La Salle lacked in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball Finals on Saturday.

The diminutive playmaker said the lack of communication was evident in the Green Archers’ 76-70 defeat to the Blue Eagles.

READ: Ateneo holds on, beats La Salle in Game 1 of UAAP Finals

“There are lots of instances that the coaches and players weren’t able to understand each other, and those happened in the crucial moments. I think that’s where things went wrong,” he said.

Melecio and Ricci Rivero muffed their three-point attempts in the final minute that could have given La Salle a chance to tie the game.

But what led to the La Salle’s downfall was its inability to communicate on the defensive end especially in the waning seconds, where Thirdy Ravena and Isaac Go connected for the game-sealing bucket in the final 10.4 seconds of the game. 

“We didn’t communicate that much inside the court, while Ateneo had great defense and execution. We think they had a better communication inside the court than us.”

Melecio, however, isn’t putting too much thought on the defeat, noting that the Archers can still bounce back and extend the series to a deciding Game 3.

“It’s better to lose in Game 1,” he said. “But we need to bounce back and adjust our execution against Ateneo. We know our performance was not enough, so we need to have better decisions in the next game.”