Mason Amos with De La Salle University against National University in UAAP Season 88. Photo from UAAP Media.
MANILA — De La Salle University is in an unfamiliar position on UAAP Season 88 so far, sitting at below .500 with three losses against two wins following its 82-78 defeat against National University on Sunday.
This is the first time that Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson had more defeats than victories in his UAAP career with the Taft-based cagers, and adding further to their woes was the injury of Mason Amos who sustained an apparent right knee injury against the Bulldogs.
READ: National U pulls away late vs. La Salle as Amos exits with injury
“He will have his MRI tonight. Based on what he told us, he heard a pop when he got hit,” shared Robinson of Amos, who needed to be put in a wheelchair to exit the hardcourt with still over six minutes left in the game.
Amos’ knee collided with NU's Gelo Santillan, but Robinson maintained that the incident was “part of the game.”
“Those things are unintentional and those things really happen,” he insisted. “So we would just be hoping for the best.”
Also part of the game, according to the one-time UAAP champion coach, are La Salle’s early struggles.
One of the many factors in the Green Archers’ record is their freethrow shooting as a team which is only 58.2%, with La Salle making only 23 of their 33 attempts today in their four-point loss.
But rather than dwelling on could-haves and should-haves, Robinson is instead urging his Green Archers to keep their heads high as they fight through adversity.
“There is no way for us but to keep on persevering and keep on fighting,” he said. ”We could have all the reasons to just die, but that’s the least of our priorities right now.”
“Yes, we’re gonna be down, but with so many games to come, you could never cut us out,” he added. “It’s nice to make these mistakes early so we still have a chance to get better.”
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