COACH Topex Robinson of defending champion La Salle played his last years in the PBA with the defunct Alaska franchise where he also served as an assistant tactician for six seasons.

That explains his mantra after the Green Archers absorbed a stunning 71-75 loss to the University of the East Red Warriors last Sunday—there’s no use crying over spilt milk.

“We learn from those experiences. It’s gonna make us better. Blaming them is the worst thing we can do. Blaming each other, blaming the players—that’s not our approach.

“Life goes on for us. We have to focus on FEU, so you cannot cry over spilled milk anymore. It’s done and over with,” he added.

Whether La Salle will take those lessons to heart will be known when it takes on winless FEU today in the 87th UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The game is set at 4:30 p.m. before Adamson University faces National University at 6:30.

La Salle’s defeat, the first in four games, enabled University of the Philippines to seize the solo lead with a 4-0 record. All four victories by the Fighting Maroons were in double-digit fashions.

It will be a daunting task for FEU, with the Archers expected to bounce back strong.

The humbling loss to UE serves as a wake-up call for La Salle as it vies for a back-to-back title run for the first time since 1998-2001.

Still without a win in four games under new coach Sean Chambers, FEU is trying to avoid a second 0-5 start in the last three seasons.

The Falcons and the Bulldogs are seeking to bounce back from their tough losses over the weekend.

Adamson fell to Ateneo 51-60 which ended the Katipunan-based squad’s three-game slide to open the season, the worst start in 11 years.

NU, which has lost two in a row, suffered a 64-67 defeat at the hands of University of Santo Tomas. Life has been hard for the Bulldogs without Mali’s Mo Diassana, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on opening weekend.