No need to pump up limping La Salle against Ateneo

MANILA, Philippines – La Salle may look like a limping squad after suffering key personnel losses against a  full-force Ateneo  wrecking crew that has blown out opponents left and right since their shocking opening-day loss against Adamson.

But La Salle head coach Louie Gonzalez says there’s no need to pump up the Green Archers in Saturday’s super showdown in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament on October 6, 4 pm at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

“Siguro if you’re playing for La Salle and you’re going up against Ateneo, alam mo na yun kung anong dapat mong gawin,” said Gonzalez, who’s making do with an 11-man lineup after losing Kiwi Samuel Taane and captain Kib Montalbo to injuries. 

“Wala na kami kailangang sabihin na any motivation. Di na namin kailangang i-motivate sila. They know na that’s one of their responsibilities.”

(If you’re playing for La Salle and you’re going up against Ateneo, you know what you have to do. The coaches don’t need to motivate the players. They already know that it’s one of their responsibilities.)

Despite going up against Ateneo for the first time as head coach, Gonzalez has had experience leading the Archers against the Eagles, at least on an interim basis.

“I was able to coach in Season 79 when Aldin [Ayo] got suspended, but I was just an assistant then,” Gonzalez said. “Going up against Ateneo, I saw their winning margins in the last 3 games. Since the start of the tournament, I know they’re really the team to beat.”

Although coming at the expense of lower-ranked NU, UE and UST, Ateneo has wrecked that lineup with an average winning margin of 28.3 points.

“Sa amin, pareho lang, we’ll take it one game at a time,” he continued. “Isipin mo Ateneo, may pressure. Kahit na isipin mo na ibang school, may pressure pa rin eh with the way the standings are right now. And you know, you need to perform.”

(For us, it’s just the same, we’ll take it one game at a time. When you think of Ateneo, there’s pressure. Even if you think of other schools, there is still pressure with the way the standings are right now.)

For La Salle, the heavy burden of lifting the team’s offense now lies on the shoulders of sharpshooting guard Aljun Melecio and breakout big man Justine Baltazar.

On the defensive side, the Archers still have weapons in the form of Baltazar, scrappy guard Andrei Caracut, and two-way forward Santi Santillan.

Adamson already proved that Ateneo is mortal like everyone else. Like a true rival, La Salle would do well to follow suit. – Rappler.com