Archers to vent ire on Tams?

MANILA, Philippines — The reigning champions are down but definitely not out.

After absorbing its first scar in an anticipated tough title defense bid, La Salle is determined to move forward and vent its ire on the winless Far Eastern U in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game time is at 4:30 p.m. with the Archers (3-1) wanting a quick turnaround versus the Tamaraws (0-4) on the heels of a stunning 75-71 defeat at the hands of the streaking University of the East (2-2) last weekend. At 6:30 p.m., National U (1-3) and Adamson (2-2) shoot for the same mission after losses against Santo Tomas and Ateneo, respectively.

“That (loss vs UE) makes us human. We’re not supernatural human beings. Tao pa rin kami. There are times that we’re gonna be on our lows and that just happened,” said coach Topex Robinson as La Salle stumbled after an impressive 3-0 start last week.

“We cannot cry over spilled milk anymore. So, it’s done and over with. What’s important for us is the opportunity in front of us and that’s FEU.”

In a super rare occasion, the usually potent La Salle team had a sluggish start as it stared at a massive 11-28 deficit against the fiery UE squad then fell short in a comeback attempt.

The shocking defeat relegated La Salle to second spot behind unbeaten and last year’s finalist UP (4-0) but if anything, Robinson expects his charges to only get better from here on.

La Salle last year also had a shaky first-round campaign before sweeping the second round on its way to the title highlighted by a 2-1 comeback series win against UP.

“We will keep learning. And there’s a lot of learnings in our game against UE. It’s just gonna make us better. The earlier we’ll get over this, the better it is for us. Life goes on for us so we have to focus on FEU,” he vowed.

FEU, on the other hand, is hungry to finally give head coach Sean Chambers his first win after four tries, and there’s no better chance to do it against the defending UAAP king.