Topex Robinson grateful for La Salle's finals stint in his maiden year
At A Glance
- Robinson called the shots for the Green Archers earlier this year and will have a rare chance to be included in La Salle's list of mentors who won the title in just their first year.
De La Salle finally ended a six-year drought in the UAAP men’s basketball finals.
The Green Archers flexed their might with a masterful 97-73 thrashing of the National University Bulldogs in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 25, that set them up a best-of-three championship date with the top-seeded University of the Philippines Maroons beginning Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Riding on the crest of a nine-game winning streak, the Topex Robinson-coached squad hopes to carry that momentum.
And Robinson was grateful to have that opportunity to help the school reclaim its lost glory in the country’s prestigious collegiate league.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to represent DLSU. The championships that they have won, I just told them, we’re not a part of it (yet). We could etch our own names in that rich tradition. We have the opportunity now. We’re gonna give a good fight against UP,” said Robinson.
Robinson called the shots for the Green Archers earlier this year and will have a rare chance to be included in La Salle’s list of mentors who won the title in just their first year.
This includes Franz Pumaren –who gave the school its first title, Juno Sauler and most recently Aldin Ayo in 2016.
In the 46-year-old’s first stint with the Taft-based squad, the players saw significant progress in the program and have constantly insisted they owed the promising season to the coaching staff.
“When I took this job, I told them it’s either you win a championship or you die trying. If you are representing a program that’s rich with tradition, you’re put into a situation to honor the teams and the players that came before you,” he added.
Although feeling honored, Robinson understands that more than taking down the UP side, which will be one hell of a job, their group was given a chance to be part of La Salle’s rich winning tradition.
“At the end of the year, our vision is for these guys to always be at their best. It just so happened that we’re playing now and playing in the finals and playing to be part of that winning tradition, that winning culture. But we’re looking far beyond this Season 86.”