Topex Robinson
Topex Robinson was given one task after being named to coach La Salle, a big one where several bigger names before him failed at: Bring the UAAP men’s basketball championship back to Taft.
He understood the huge responsibility and set out to achieve that goal from Day 1.
“[The job is] never gonna be easy. Even at the start when I took over, obviously, there are marching orders because it’s been a while (since La Salle won a championship),” Robinson told the Inquirer over the phone.
“[La Salle was] longing for [a title] and they are not gonna cut around the bushes anymore, they are gonna go straight, wala nang paligoy-ligoy—they wanna win a championship and of course you wouldn’t say no (when that job is given to you),” he went on.
With a rich basketball history, La Salle’s thirst was understandable since it has been seven years since the Green Archers last reigned supreme.
And surprisingly hiring Robinson to be at the helm turned out to be the right choice as the former Phoenix coach in the Philippine Basketball Association delivered using an approach he has preached since his botched NCAA days with Lyceum.
Identity instilled
He admits to having doubts about his capabilities as a coach, especially when those NCAA heartaches came to mind.
“You also have to believe in yourself that you could deliver, because when you ask somebody, no one in his right frame of mind would say they don’t want to win,” Robinson added. “Like all the teams, if you’re gonna ask them what your ultimate goal is, it’s to win a championship.”
Robinson put his identity in the Archers that changed everything.
“You have to have your own identity that you wanna sell to the players, also the whole staff that’s put under your care,” he said. “To each his own, but how do you make sure that it’s clear and you could really articulate it, that’s where the work really gets hard.
“The culture that we’re building is to take care of each other, it is really broad but what does it mean? That’s where the work happened. For us, I guess we need to make sure that the players left under our care should feel heard, that they really matter so that became our way,” he added.
“It was simple, but how you execute it is where the hard part comes in. But once you do it, you get to be there, that’s where the magic happens.” INQ