Adamson University head coach Franz Pumaren, a beloved alumnus of the De La Salle University, will after years of steering the Green Archers be on the opposing side for the first time on Saturday, September 23.
Seven years after having served as La Salle’s mentor, Pumaren, who helped steer the Green Archers to six UAAP Men’s Basketball championships, shared that it will be ‘weird’ facing the Green and White.
“Probably on the start it will be weird,” the 52-year-old mentor, who has helped lead Adamson to their best start since 2011, shared. “I was excited during my first game. It’s my welcome gig going back to the UAAP.”
Besides bringing a handful of championships to Taft Avenue, he also helped mold Green Archers legends like Renren Ritualo and Don Allado — both of whom are now serving as his assistant coaches in Adamson.
However, just like what almost all the coaches in the league had said during the pre-season, Pumaren stressed that this edition of the Green Archers is the barometer of all the teams this season.
“Well, you know, they are the hands down favorite. You just look at their lineup. They’re quite deep at 1 to 16,” he said. “I’ve seen them. They have all the materials. I think they’re the favorite team even in the very start.”
“I hope we can sustain and keep the game very close.”
Pumaren is treating this as just “one of those games”, and just wants the young Falcons to show the competitive fire they have been displaying in their last two games.
“It’s just one of the scheduled games we have to play. We just have to dig deep for us to compete with the powerhouse on Saturday,” he declared.
