Adamson University head coach Franz Pumaren did not mince his words right after their loss to the De La Salle University earlier today.
“I think that’s the worst start for a team that I’ve handled,” Pumaren declared.
The Soaring Falcons were staring at difficult circumstances. La Salle had Ben Mbala fresh from a dominant stint with his home country Cameroon in the 2017 Afrobasket. There were also the turnovers, forced mid-range jumpers, and a porous defense.
The game could have been decided early, as La Salle left the first quarter with a 36-12 lead.
But the Falcons clawed back. Ben Mbala might have been dominant, but Adamson shut down his teammates. A terrific group effort in the third quarter led to a crucial 20-7 run that got the Falcons to within seven. That, however, was the closest the Falcons got, as they eventually fell, 85-73.
With the game coming down to a grind in the fourth quarter, the Falcons threw their punches, but gassed out in the end. Adamson had several chances to come within two possessions of the Green Archers, but they fumbled a prime shot opportunity each time.
There were certainly positives for Franz Pumaren to look back on, like how they forced La Salle into 26 turnovers, and having only Ben Mbala significantly contribute for the other side.
Alas, there weren’t enough positives to outweigh the Falcons’ negatives.
“But you know, even though we had a bad start, we were able to make a comeback. Unfortunately it fell short, but forcing them to 26 turnovers is already a feat for us,” mused Adamson’s head tactician and La Salle’s former mentor. “We clawed back when we were down by 24. We were able to limit their productions, in terms of local. We all know Mbala played his best game, this is his career-high.
“But you look at the whole La Salle, we were able to do a good job shutting them down.”
Despite being tagged as dark horses in the preseason, Pumaren notes that his team is still young and dealing with the rigors of contending for a championship. Sporting a 1-2 record, Pumaren is confident that his Falcons can get back on their feet.
“We should also remember that we’re a very young team. The veterans, they hardly played last season except for Papi [Sarr], that’s a part of coaching a young team,” the second-year Adamson mentor pointed out.
“We have to, not anticipate, but we expect sometimes it will happen like that.”
