ENJOYING its finest start since a 12-game winning streak in 2016, defending champion La Salle is not resting its laurels to sustain its high level of play.

“So far, lahat sa amin, marami pang pagkukulang, especially me, marami pa akong pagkukulang dahil bago nga lang ako sa leadership role. Pero kailangan lang namin na gawin namin yung best namin and control yung mako-control namin,” said reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao.

There were a lot of rough patches still to be fixed, but the Green Archers were able to close out the opening week of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament on top of the standings at 3-0.

La Salle survived a gritty National University side on opening weekend, handed Adamson a sound 30-point beating and outplayed fabled rival Ateneo to set in motion its back-to-back title bid.

The Blue Eagles were very much in the game in the first half before the Green Archers took command in the third quarter and never looked back to prevail, 74-61, in their rivalry game.

“Marami pa kaming na-learn sa larong to, tulad ng turnovers, napakarami. Yun yung mga kailangan naming i-work on moving forward,” Quiambao said.

Despite flirting with a triple-double performance of 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists that went along with four steals, Quiambao promised to deliver a better effort when La Salle takes on University of the East on Sunday.

In front of a 12,478 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena, the Green Archers displayed their experience against a young Blue Eagles crew desperately searching for their first win.

“We just stayed disciplined in what we do. We made a lot of mistakes along the line, we had 22 turnovers and that’s something we have to work on. Ateneo threw a lot of freak defense on us and good thing, we’re able to get our bearings back to get the win,” said La Salle coach Topex Robinson.

Ateneo dropped to 0-3, with all games decided by double figures, extending its worst start since coach Tab Baldwin started handling the program in 2016.

The last time the Blue Eagles opened the season with three consecutive losses was in 2013, a year removed after a remarkable five-peat.

“You have to be patient with the process. You invest too much time on something that you know will pay dividends, you just don’t know when it will pay dividends,” Baldwin said after the defeat.

Ateneo earlier bowed to University of the Philippines on opening night, and University of Santo Tomas, its first loss against the España-based side in nine years.