The fight and belief have not left Adamson University captain Leo Coguimbal.
Even amid the Soaring Falcons’ struggles in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Tournament, Coguimbal continues to see something worth holding on to: the future.
For all of Adamson’s difficulties this year, which kept the program out of the Final Four for a fourth consecutive season, one thing has become clear to the 23-year-old middle blocker — the San Marcelino-based squad’s young hitters are beginning to come into their own.
“Nung una, hindi namin tinitingnan yung rookie-rookie na ’yan, siyempre. Kumbaga, lalaban sila, yung mga bata dito as players and as athletes dito sa UAAP. Ngayon na patapos na yung season namin, happy ako sa nagiging growth nila,” Coguimbal said.
After an up-and-down first-round campaign, the Soaring Falcons stumbled through a five-game skid in the second round that effectively ended their postseason hopes.
For Coguimbal, a Season 87 Best Middle Blocker, the issue had always been internal. Adamson struggled to keep pace with Final Four-bound teams Far Eastern University, National University, University of Santo Tomas, and Ateneo de Manila University.
But amid another season ending short of expectations, the native of Calatagan, Batangas, has found solace in the emergence of Adamson’s young core.
“Kita naman na halos yung mga gunner namin ay first year talaga. Hopefully, maka-gain sila ng experience rito and madala nila sa next season,” Coguimbal shared.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
At the center of Adamson’s promising future is 19-year-old hitter Richard Besorio, who showed his readiness to lead the Soaring Falcons in the seasons ahead on Wednesday afternoon at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Besorio delivered 23 points off 20 attacks and three blocks, alongside 12 excellent receptions and three excellent digs. And his performance powered Adamson to a four-set win over the University of the Philippines while snapping the team’s five-game skid.
“Masaya ako dahil naging coach ko si Coach Raffy. Tinutulungan din ako ni Kuya Leo para makatulong sa team sa kahit anong paraan na kakayanin ko,” Besorio said, a product of Hua Siong College of Iloilo.
Beyond Besorio’s steady production, other young players who have shown promise under coach Raffy Mosuela this Season 88 include rookie trio Jims Ducusin, Lance Flestado, and Zyro Ornos.
For Mosuela, the future of the Soaring Falcons will depend not only on talent but on how quickly the young core develops the maturity and volleyball IQ needed to bring the program back to the Final Four for the first time since Season 81 (2019).
“Well, yung pagdating sa future ng Adamson in terms of this college, this men’s team… Sa akin lang naman, basta kailangan natin kasing medyo bigyan ng … Yung sinasabi nga naming volleyball IQ yung mga bata,” Mosuela said.
“In terms of system, so in terms of system, halos pare-parehas naman yan, depende lang kung paano i-deliver. So the way of execution, kung ano yung mga situation, sa ganito na yung situation, once na, tulad na, yung mga bata… Nasabi ko nga kay [Richard] Besorio kanina, on the last — last point, nasabi ko sa kanya, eh kasi medyo nag-overthink sa ginagawa, kita ko naman yun, the way na naglalaro siya. Kaya sabi ko, eh kahit anong mangyari, bibigay sa’yo yung bola, hampasin mo,” he continued.
“So maturity, that’s the word.”
Adamson will wrap up its Season 88 campaign against Far Eastern University on Saturday.
