Adamson University has been knocking on the championship door over the past two years, reaching the Final Four in both Seasons 87 and 88.
Although the Lady Falcons fell short on both occasions, their consecutive semifinal appearances marked a positive step forward, with the steady development of core players Elaine Etang, Cheska Apag, and Kemi Adeshina coinciding with the team’s rise.
Now in their final year with Adamson in UAAP Season 89, the trio has one last opportunity to cement their names in Lady Falcons history.
Their mindset is simple: it’s now or never.
“We used to tell ourselves this is our last playing year, wala nang bawi next year,” said Adeshina on Wednesday after Adamson’s gutsy 79-75 win over Far Eastern University.
“The time is now for us to win. Us seniors, we make sure we play together as a team and what we have in our head is walang next year. This is the time for us,” she continued.
But the three seniors aren’t the only ones playing their final season for the Lady Falcons. Nine of the team’s 16 players are set to graduate after this campaign, adding even more urgency to their pursuit of a deeper postseason run.
With second-year head coach Jed Colonia at the helm, Adamson is determined to secure a third consecutive Final Four appearance and keep its championship hopes alive.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
The hard-earned victory over FEU lifted the Lady Falcons to solo third place with a 5-3 record, just behind National University at 5-2.
Adeshina, meanwhile, made sure to bounce back from her scoreless outing in Adamson’s 50-48 first-round loss to the Lady Tamaraws just last Saturday. The Nigerian center erupted for 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field, alongside seven rebounds, to help the Lady Falcons avenge that defeat.
“The last game against FEU was a bad game for me, I could not even score a point in that game so I just told myself that I’m going to make bawi sa second round,” said Adeshina, a one-time Elite Team member.
With the race for the semifinals heating up in the second round, five teams — NU, Adamson, FEU, University of the Philippines, and Ateneo de Manila University — remain separated by slim margins in the standings.
Amid the increasingly tight competition, Adeshina knows that the Lady Falcons cannot afford to lose sight of what’s at stake, especially with their final season together winding down.
“If we want to be in the Final Four and go on to be in the championship, this is the time for us to do it.”
