Moment of truth for La Salle

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle coach Aldin Ayo has too much respect for Ateneo to think the Archers will run roughshod over a tired team in the opener of the best-of-three series for the UAAP senior men’s basketball championship at the Mall of Asia Arena this afternoon.  But it’s certainly tempting to downplay the Eagles’ chances after they were stretched to the limit in beating FEU, 69-68, in overtime for the right to face the Archers in the finals last Wednesday.

While Ateneo had only three days of rest, La Salle booked its ticket to the title playoffs by ousting Adamson, 69-64, last Nov. 23.  Theoretically, the 10-day respite means the Archers will show up for Game 1 with fresher legs and clearer minds.  Ayo, however, discounts it as an advantage.

The only team that has beaten La Salle this season is Ateneo and it came after the Archers raced to a 12-0 start.  Game No. 13 didn’t turn out to be lucky for the Archers as the Eagles brought La Salle back down to earth, 83-71, last Nov. 5.  It was a complete reversal from the outcome of their first encounter which La Salle took, 97-81, last Oct. 2.  Ateneo spoiled La Salle’s bid to make UAAP history by sweeping not only the double-round eliminations but also the finals.  The Archers would’ve been seeded straight to the finals if they went 14-0.  No team has ever bagged the trophy with a 16-0 record.

Despite the stain, Ayo isn’t fazed.  He’s convinced La Salle has the weapons to turn back Ateneo.  If at all, the loss was a hiccup or a wake-up call.  Ayo says it was a reminder that the Archers are vulnerable if they don’t play as a team.  In La Salle’s 14 triumphs, the average winning margin was 17 points but in the Archers’ last two victories over FEU and Adamson, they struggled with an average gap of only 5.5.  Ayo shrugs off speculation that La Salle peaked too early and explains the slippage is traced to players veering away from executing the gameplan to showcase their individual skills, something that often happens in collegiate leagues.  But things are now back on track, players are on the same page and the team is ready to bring home the title.

Last season, La Salle didn’t make it to the Final Four and coach Juno Sauler resigned just two years after leading the Archers to the throne.  Ayo was recruited after piloting Letran to the NCAA title and stepped into the firing line with only a year of major collegiate league experience.  The 39-year-old Ayo was once the video coordinator of the PBA team Kia, now Mahindra, but never called the shots for a Manila-based team until the Letran job.  His previous claim to fame was being named 2012 Jr. NBA Coach of the Year.

Ayo grew up an only child cared for by his mother Eduarda. He lost his father, an Army sergeant, when he was four months old. The day before his baptism, his father was killed in an ambush by Muslim rebels in a military encampment at dawn in Basilan. His father would’ve gone on military leave to attend the baptism the next day. His mother worked hard alone to grow the family business which became a successful enterprise in rice milling, farming, poultry and piggery.

Ayo attended the Our Lady of Peñafrancia seminary in Sorsogon then enrolled at San Beda before moving to Letran where he played on back-to-back NCAA title teams in 1998 and 1999. It was coach Eric Altamirano who invited Ayo to join the Jr. NBA program and later coach Glenn Capacio to enlist with Kia. Among Ayo’s major basketball influences were his Sorsogon townmate Dante Gonzalgo and former Letran coaches Binky Favis, Louie Alas and Mollet Pineda.

When Ayo arrived at La Salle early this year, he inherited only four players from Sauler’s title squad – Jeron Teng, Thomas Torres, Jason Perkins and Kib Montalbo. Ayo welcomed six rookies in Ben Mbala, Aljun Melecio, Ricci Rivero, Brent Paraiso, Mark Dyke and Justin Baltazar. The priority was to sell Ayo’s system of “mayhem” basketball, disrupting the opponent’s advance with trap variations of a dizzying full-court press. It took several months and several losses in preseason games for the Archers to adjust to Ayo’s style. But as the players bought into it, the work got easy and the winning got easier.

Ayo says the Archers’ goal is to win the ultimate prize, nothing else, and he’s ready to do what it takes to accomplish the mission. He brought in Capacio as a coaching consultant and Louie Gonzales, Austin Erestain and McJour Luib as assistants. Held over from last season were assistant coaches Siot Tanquingcen and Paolo Sauler and strength and conditioning coach Marlon Celis. Aside from the four 2013 title squad holdovers and the six rookies, the other Archers are Andrei Caracut, Jollo Go, Abu Tratter, Prince Rivero and Julian Sargent. Playing in their final year of eligibility are Teng, Perkins, Torres and Sargent.

Ayo says he admires Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin but isn’t intimidated by his Olympic credentials. “Man for man, we’ve got the edge and I think we’ve got the kind of defense that will make it difficult for them to execute,” he says. “We know Ateneo is a disciplined team, they play unselfish basketball, they move the ball well. But we’re confident. We’ve made it this far and we’re not looking back.”