Despite falling short in their bid for back-to-back UAAP Boys’ Basketball titles, Adamson head coach Mike Fermin remains proud of the Baby Falcons.
Despite being undersized, the Baby Falcons pushed Collins Akowe and the top-seeded NUNS Bullpups to the limit. In the end, the Bullpups narrowly escaped with a 64-62 victory to advance to the Finals on March 9.
“Actually, pinagsalita ko nga sila. Parang ang tono nila ay ang sama ng laro nila. Sabi ko, hindi, hindi masama ang laro niyo. You did well. Limiting the best FSA in juniors basketball, you pushed him to the limit. You did well,” Fermin said, highlighting the efforts of his twin tower duo, Allen Perez and Jireh Tumaneng.
“Sabi ko, you have to be proud. Kasi akala nila, pag kailangang maganda ang laro, ibig sabihin points. Sabi ko, no. Hindi ‘yan yung pinipreach namin. Points will come. Pero kailangan, gawin natin yung dapat natin gawin. So, ang ganda.”
Earl Medina, the team’s leader, also expressed his pride in how they fought with heart in their final high school game.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“Siyempre, proud na proud. Gaya nga ng sinasabi ni Coach, parang rollercoaster yung season namin. Sa second round, first game, Final Four — tuwang-tuwa ako sa team ko ngayon. Kasi kahit number one seed yung kalaban namin, hindi kami bumitaw hanggang dulo. Lumaban kami,” said Medina, who has already committed to Adamson for college.
Next season, 5-foot-11 guard Mark Esperanza will take the reins as Adamson’s leader. Already considered one of the top point guards in high school, he is expected to take on an even bigger role in UAAP Season 88.
“Sinabi ko sa kanya, alam ko siya ang magiging leader next year.
“Sinabi ko lang sa kanya na i-guide niya yung team dahil siya ang pinakamatanda. Tatlong taon na siya sa team, kaya siya na ang magiging pinakamatanda sa team. I-guide niya lang yung team para makabalik ulit sa Final Four at eventually, sa championship,” Medina said about Esperanza, who averaged 16.08 points, 5.77 assists, 4.85 rebounds, and 1.62 steals per game this season.
As for Fermin, he plans to start early in preparing for their redemption campaign, ensuring that Esperanza and the team’s new recruits quickly adapt to the system.
“We’ll start early sa pag-develop ng mga bago. Kasi kung titignan mo, hindi naman zero. Pero kung ire-rate mo sila from 1 to 10, yung mga matitira, nasa 5 o 6 lang. Samantalang yung mga paalis, nasa level 9 o 10 na. Para umabot sila sa ganoong level, we have to start early to teach the system,” said Fermin.
