History repeats itself, they say. But De La Salle head coach Topex Robinson would rather focus on the present than recall the lessons of the past against a formidable team that is the University of the Philippines.

The Green Archers found themselves on the back seat after the Fighting Maroons scored a 73-65 win in Game 1 of the best-of-three UAAP Season 87 Finals series.

It could easily be reminiscent of the previous championship series when the Taft-based squad was dealt with the same beating in the opener, only to regain its bearing toward a sweet reversal.

Robinson, the wise mentor that he is, said La Salle is fielding a younger crew compared to what UP had faced last season.

“We don't look back at the past, that's done,” said Robinson after La Salle’s defeat at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday evening, Dec. 8.

“We just need to let things go and focus on what we have, the players are different now we have a younger team," he added. “The team that played last season is gone and have moved forward, so samin we just have to slug it out, yun lang naman masasabi namin.”

But what stood out for the 49-year-old tactician was his squad’s mentality of not pointing fingers and giving blame, noting that they continued to play their system despite the challenges during the match.

“The good thing about the team in the dugout, was nobody was blaming nobody. We've gone this far because of how we really became a united front and we will not let any negativity get in our way,” Robinson continued.

“We will play this championship the way we should play, as a big family, di naman palagi flowers and rainbows and makikita mo eh you got to go through those rough patches,” he added.