Whenever a team undergoes a rebuilding phase, there will be moments that will lay bare the difficulties in forming a group of players to eventually go all the way.
For Nash Racela, seeing his Adamson University side get walloped by Ateneo de Manila University 47-78 in what was his program’s second loss in the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament, was all part of the process.
With the Blue Eagles scorching fire as early as the first period, once they put up a huge lead, there was almost no way for the Soaring Falcons to force a comeback.
It was as if the game was between men and boys, conceded Racela.
“Obviously, we have a lot of things to work on,” said Racela, whose side had just won its breakthrough win last Saturday against UE, 82-66.
“Everything got exposed because we played the best college program in the present. I think it’s as simple as that.”
Heading into the clash against the Blue Eagles, Racela already knew that his young Soaring Falcons were in for a rough ride. With that in mind, it is safe to say that Adamson needed all the help it could get before the game and it came from a head coach of a fellow UAAP squad.
Olsen, Nash’s brother who coaches Far Eastern University, provided his sibling with some tips after his Tamaraws gave a good fight against Ateneo.
Unfortunately, though, it was hard to implement these ideas with limited time on the training ground.
“Si Coach Olsen? Nag-share naman,” said Nash as Olsen’s Tamaraws just faced the Blue Eagles last Saturday, also falling 79-70. “May kaunting ano lang but you know that’s the hard part – in a tournament like this you only have a day of preparation so it will be very hard to put in a lot of things especially with our team na we’re just building the foundation.
“We can’t put in a lot of things at this time. We would rather just keep on building the blocks. Ang explanation ko sa team kanina, I drew a building sa kanila, sabi ko before people can recognize the building, if you’re at street level, people only see the building when it’s already done.”
“That’s the only time they will recognize what you have, the building or the program. Right now, we’re still, not even at street level, nandun pa tayo sa basement. Parking pa lang nalalagay natin. But definitely, we will get there. Sabi ko just be part of that process of building,” he continued.
Truly, it will indeed take years before Racela can see Adamson become the program that he envisions. Blowout losses like the one against Ateneo are merely part of the process. What is important is that his boys learn from them and bounce back better.
It should be remembered that it took him his third season with FEU to win a championship after so many post-season disappointments. One elimination round defeat should not deter the Soaring Falcons from the growth they can achieve.
“Pag minadali naman namin, lalo magugulo ang player. Baka hindi na makalaro masyado,” stressed Racela.
“Ang emphasis is the now, forget about this loss, learn from it, and focus on the next task which is UST sa Saturday.”
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