There are two ways one can respond to a setback – by sinking further into misery or by rising up to redemption.
Both possible outcomes are open for the Adamson University Soaring Falcons after their chastening 71-73 defeat at the hands of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, as the latter forced a playoff match in the UAAP Season 81 Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four.
“You know we’re disappointed. But you have to give them credit because they came out strong, they had a great game, and they made some clutch baskets,” said Sean Manganti, who contributed 15 points, five boards, and two dimes for the Soaring Falcons.
“So you gotta give it to them, you gotta respect them.”
It was a difficult game for the Soaring Falcons, especially in the third quarter where the Fighting Maroons led as much as 13 points while Adamson only sank one three-point shot from 22 attempts. To say it was surprising is an understatement, as Adamson had UP’s number in both games of the elimination round.
“They just made that run, it was a really strong run. We didn’t give up, we held our own, but we came back but we still lost it,” lamented the 6-foot-5 Manganti.
It was a bad day at the office for Manganti and his teammate Jerrick Ahanmisi, who both sat out Adamson’s last elimination round game against the FEU Tamaraws due to injury and sickness respectively.
“Actually we didn’t wanna lose, [but] I mean, we gotta move on.
“We have to get ready for Wednesday and make sure that we get the win so we make it to the finals,” said Soaring Falcons guard Ahanmisi.
Ahanmisi – who averaged, 18.0 points per game in the regular season – was limited to just nine markers alongside seven boards and four dimes in 36 minutes of action. Franz Pumaren, his coach, lamented that the third-year guard was “not at his usual element” because he’s still recovering from illness.
“I think I’m feeling better but I just gotta keep practicing, and we get back in tomorrow,” insisted Ahanmisi, who expects to be as heavily defended in that playoff match as he was guarded in this game.
“You know I just gotta get used to it.
“They’ll keep playing me like that, and I just gotta make sure to listen what coach Franz says, and what the coach Franz teaches me during practice. Because they’re just going to play physical on me and it’s something that I’m gonna work on my game,” added the 6-foot-1 guard.
At the end of the day, though, Adamson are still alive this season. The result is not the end of the world for them; they can still dampen State U’s season with a win on Wednesday to enter the finals and get a shot at winning their first championship since 1977.
“We worked hard this season to get that twice-to-beat advantage. And you know we commend our team for still playing hard and showing that we can come back even though we were down, and you know we just wanna stay together,” lauded the Adamson skipper.
“That’s the good part. You can really see that we never give up and that’s really the best part about our team – we never give up.”
