La Salle's Ayo mulls moving Mbala to small forward

MANILA, Philippines — When Aldin Ayo said he wants the De La Salle Green Archers to evolve, he wasn’t kidding.

 

After stellar showings in the Afro Basket, the champion coach is looking to move league MVP Ben Mbala to the three-spot.

 

“We might convert him to 3-spot when he comes back,” Ayo said of his Cameroonian big man, who is currently logging national team duties in the FIBA-sanctioned tournament in Senegal. 

 

"He can play two, three, four, five for us now because of the skill set that he has developed,” he added during the post-game presser of the DLSU-FEU game on Sunday where the top dogs emerged victorious.

 

Asked about his ward’s return, the second-year UAAP coach shared that Mbala has hinted that he could report back to duty just before the Archers' game against National University.

 

The 6-foot-8 Mbala, who matched his pre-UAAP hype that surrounded him, led the Green Archers to a 13-1 elimination round record en route to the Season 79 title. He is currently the Afro Basket’s third best scorer with 18.3 points per game, and also the third best rebounder with nine per outing. 

 

Mbala has also started showing a knack for 3-pointers as he led the Cameroonians in long bombs during their game against Tunisia last week. 

 

“Thank you, Lord, may LeBron (James) na kami,” starting point guard Kib Montalbo chimed in with a chuckle. "Malaking bagay yun. LeBron James ng Pilipinas si Ben eh.”

 

"Lagi namin pinapanood highlights niya. We’re happy for him. Once he’s down here, he’s gonna work hard again kasi goal namin is to win the championship and to win the back to back,” he continued.

 

“Si Ben, we always tell him to do new things kasi 'yung bata, grabe ang work ethic,” added Ayo.

 

The Green Archers will shoot for a second-straight win against the Bulldogs this Saturday at the Big Dome.