La Salle ‘humbled’ by UE loss as MVP Kevin Quiambao works on free throws

MANILA, Philippines — The La Salle Green Archers, as good as they can be, could be caught in a moment of weakness.

If there was any feeling of invincibility the defending UAAP men’s basketball champions had, it wore off after a humbling loss against a more determined UE Red Warriors side, 75-71, on Sunday, September 22.

The final score was not an indication of the whole game — as the defending champion was buried in a 17-point hole after the first quarter — before coming up short of an opportunity to force overtime.

Reigning UAAP MVP Kevin Quiambao capped off a subpar shooting night with two missed free throws to tie the game at 73 with 5.1 seconds left.

“We fell short but gained a lot of learnings, we were really humbled by this game,” Quiambao said in Filipino after the contest.

“We will bring these learnings and the pain of this loss moving forward.”

Despite nailing a team-high 17 points, Quiambao only shot 6-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-8 from three, and 4-of-10 from the free throw line.

The star forward also mentioned that he plans to practice his free throws immediately.

Following the game, La Salle head coach Topex Robinson took full responsibility for the loss, refusing to put any player under the bus.

The setback, according to him, was a reminder that they are beatable.

“I’ll be true to my word that the sooner we get over this, the better it is for us,” said Robinson.

“[The loss] is going to make us better. And blaming them is the worst thing that we’re going to do. Blaming each other, blaming the players. So, you know, life goes on for us. We have to focus on FEU, on Wednesday.” –  Rappler.com