Entering the season, first-year Adamson University Soaring Falcons head coach Franz Pumaren had a road map in mind on when and where his team will be contenders in the UAAP.
However, the young Falcons immediately bought in to his system and trusted the process that fast-tracked all of Pumaren’s plans. The result? The Soaring Falcons are making their first Final Four appearance since 2011. Standing in their way though is the top offensive team in the league today, the 13-1 De La Salle University Green Archers.
The multi-titled mentor admitted that he is proud of his team’s performance this season – a big feat for a program that had struggled for the better part of the decade. But now that they are in the post-season, he issued a challenge to his team.
“I’m proud of my team. Who would even think or expect us to be in this particular situation? But just what I told them after the game, are we just satisfied to be in the Final Four?
“If we feel like we’re satisfied being in the Final Four, I won’t waste my time preparing and reviewing. But everyone answered in the affirmative manner so we’re still gonna continue the journey and hopefully we can pull off surprises,” he said.
La Salle though boasts a more experienced and deeper line-up compared to upstart Adamson. Even if the Soaring Falcons are scoring 72.2 points per outing – good for second in the league, the Green Archers are on a whole other plane, scoring 88.1 points per game. Moreover, Adamson’s furious top-flight three-point shooting prowess (33.1 percent – top in the league) can easily be negated by the sheer strength of La Salle’s frontline.
“Kami, our mindset right now is we have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” said Pumaren, who steered La Salle to five championships.
The 52-year-old mentor knows that they are huge underdogs entering the series. “They [La Salle] should even be 14-0, with that kind of line-up, they should really be dominating the UAAP,” he furthered.
“You’re playing against probably the best player right now in the UAAP [in Ben Mbala]. They probably have the best three guy who is rich in championship experience [In Jeron Teng].”
And after being swept by La Salle during the regular season, Pumaren is looking to spice his offense up by letting his troops play loose come game day.
“We’ll play loosely, we’re not supposed to be playing in the Final Four and they’re [La Salle] the favored team,” he shared. “We just have to make sure to keep the game close, keep rebounding close and you know, just limit turnovers.”
“It’s gonna be exciting. It’s gonna be fun. They’re supposed to win naman e, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”
Win or lose Wednesday afternoon, it will be a celebration for Pumaren and the Adamson community, knowing that this season served as a stern warning to the league: the Soaring Falcons have arrived.
