Pure, unadulterated resilience—reshaped, repackaged, and unleashed.
An irrefutable flash of genius.
La Salle looked like the living, breathing proof that patience isn’t passive; it’s a weapon. Even when nothing was falling and the scoreboard felt like a slap—22–6, a shooting drought so bad you’d think the rim filed a restraining order—the Archers never panicked. They just kept their eyes on the big prize and exhaled.
And this is where the slow, deliberate climb began.
Topex Robinson went into adjustment mode, the way a jazz musician slides into improvisation after a rough intro. First tweak: Mason Amos checks in for the first time since the mishap while Rey Remogat is still running a personal fire show. Snap—dry spell broken, three-ball down.
Then another subtle shift—Doy Dungo stepping in and hitting a quarter-ending three that flipped the emotional altitude inside the arena.
From there, the rotations began stacking like layers of a comeback blueprint. Small-ball, two carriers, perimeter scorers spacing finally breathing.
Then scoreless Mike Phillips found gaps in the middle again, bruising, battling, dragging La Salle back into view.
Then came the Quines moment—the one nobody saw coming but Topex probably always saw this a thousand times in practice. NCAA juniors MVP Guillian Quines subs in to give Jacob Cortez some rest, and instead of just keeping the offense upright, he stabilizes it. Agile, measured, unbothered.
And right when La Salle’s rhythm looked like it was evaporating again, Quines calmly drills a critical jumper. Motor Mike adds two more. Suddenly, halftime arrives with La Salle only down three, 44–41—and the mood feels different. The game no longer belongs exclusively to UP’s chaos.
Here comes La Salle!
Midway through the third, Topex hands the keys to the offense to Vhoris Marasigan like he’s saying, “Your turn—go write something weird and wonderful.”
And against the Maroons’ trademark defensive agitators, Vhoris went full bully-ball poet. Post-ups. Deep pull-ups. Shot-making with a quiet yet confident snarl. La Salle ends the third up 59–58.
This shift wasn’t just visible—it was green.
Then came payoff time.
Big Shot Earl Abadam opens the final ten minutes with a three that didn’t just land—it detonated a remarkable final quarter finish.
The Marasigan–Abadam tag team starts carving up the Maroons’ defense with pace, poise, and a whole lot of confidence, stretching the lead to 80–74 with three minutes left.
UP, with all its length and switching, just couldn’t find enough plugs for all the leaks.
Then the game-sealing sequence: Cortez jumps a passing lane, shuffles it to Abadam streaking downcourt. His eyes glowed up seeing Gani Stevens in front of him. Like a steak dinner waiting to be seasoned, Bam Bam Abadam hits him with a jab-left-cross-right combo, and drops his patented jumper.
And just a few possessions later, he slams the door with a vintage midrange fallaway—the kind he shoots like it’s muscle memory—pushing La Salle to 85–78 with 27 seconds left.
Normally the saying goes: players win games, coaches get blamed when they lose.
For this UPset? We zag.
Yes, Marasigan, Abadam, Quines, Cortez, and Phillips shined. But what made them shine? A bench that had them tuned, sharpened, and ready.
And the fingerprints of Topex and his brainy bunch of coaches were everywhere:
- Those Marasigan isos? Pure Topex.
- Quines’ fearless teardrop over three bodies? Topex knew the kid could make that.
- The free-flowing jazz of the whole offense? That’s the Robinson ethos.
This is how he coaches:
He lets the guys steering the ship actually steer.
Gives creators room to create.
Lets runners run.
Lets gunners gun.
The result is something that feels organic and alive—improvised in the best way. Sure, it leans on elite bucket-getters when the structure dissolves, but if those guys cook? La Salle ends up on top.
And there’s no better moment for everything to synchronize than now—just in time for a high-stakes La Salle–Ateneo collision on Wednesday with a Final Four ticket on the line.
NOW MORE THAN EVER,
ANIMO LA SALLE!
BEAT ATENEO!!!!
