Learning never stops, even for champ like Topex Robinson

Topex Robinson hasn’t taken it easy since winning the UAAP title. —MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

A month removed from steering La Salle to the UAAP men’s basketball crown, Topex Robinson is all over the place.

He has been serving as a color commentator in the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, and just recently, has been brought in as a deputy for Charles Tiu’s Strong Group Athletics crew that will soon be competing in Dubai.

Robinson said it’s more by accident than design.

“I guess it’s a product of having a certain mindset—that as much as possible, I get over that Season 86 championship high,” the seasoned mentor told the Inquirer recently in a lengthy, candid chat over the phone.

“I’ve always felt that to get over such a hang-up was to keep seeking out opportunities to learn,” he went on.

A championship has eluded Robinson in the amateur ranks and the pros until he was given the keys to the Green Archers program in May last year. And naturally, the 47-year-old mentor will go out trying to ensure that the title he won with La Salle last December would be the first of many.

“Doing the PBA commentary is a way of reconnecting with the organization that has taken good care of me for the longest time. It’s a reminder of how far my journey in basketball has come,” he said. “Covering the games lets me see the game like how I used to when I played. It’s also a way of grounding myself.

“And then being near coach Brian (Goorjian)? I’ve got plenty to learn just by being [in practices],” he said. “I’ve been [to practice] for a handful of days but it has always felt lacking. So I’m excited to travel to Dubai because I know I’ll see more of him there in action.”

‘Another continent’

Goorjian is an Olympic bronze-winning coach for the Australian national team and was the coach of the Bay Area Dragons who battled eventual champion Barangay Ginebra in the Commissioner’s Cup finals last season. “I’ve been around Tim (Cone), Yeng (Guiao), Ryan (Gregorio) and Tab (Baldwin), so being around Brian is going to be a new experience. Another continent for me,” Robinson said with a chuckle.

“But really, it’s just being mindful of who you are engaging with. Basketball sure is our platform, but there are a lot of things that I’m only hearing from coach Brian now. So it’s opening my mind,” he added.

“We are now preparing for the next season,” Robinson said of La Salle. “As Mr. Enrique Razon told us, Jan. 1 is the end of our reign as champions because that’s the day we begin talking about Season 87. Which is why I’m keeping myself busy.

“Our mortal enemy, after all, is staying in that season. It’s done and over with.”