Every team enters a new season with the highest hopes and expectations. But reality bites hard and quick.
The new-look Adamson University Lady Falcons looked overwhelmed against the battle-tested University of the Philippines Lady Maroons in their UAAP Season 79 opener. With just two of their starting six from last season back for this campaign, the Lady Falcons showed a lot of weaknesses — from offense to defense.
Debuting Adamson coach Airess Padda saw a silver-lining in the loss as it tempers their expectations for the rest of the journey.
“First game was a huge reality check for the girls. It was like somebody had slapped us in the face and now they know this is what’s it gonna be like,” Padda said after the match. “I know our game experience is gonna be a huge battle for us this year but I knew going into this game, working with just two returners, half of the team is B Team – they’ve been on the B team for 2 years and today is the first day they stepped on the court — that it’s big for them.”
“I feel like a lot of them got really scared and couldn’t recover from that.”
And she believes that this loss will only bring out the best in her team.
“Even though we lost we learned a big lesson today and this is not something I want them to sit and beat themselves up on,” she continued.
With 13 more games on their calendar, the Lady Falcons know that they need to work hard to overcome their weakness. And Padda knows where to start.
“I identified our weaknesses, there’s nothing to hide from. I used the analogy ‘when you have a zit on your face and, as a woman, you cover it up with makeup.’ Don’t do that.
“Everyone knows our weaknesses, we’re much smaller, we don’t have the firepower, we’re under experienced but we’re gonna embrace that and we’re gonna work hard,” Padda recalled telling her team.
“Now you know what you’re up against. For so many months, we’ve been trying to figure out what’s it gonna be like, how do we need to play, how hard do we need to hit, how hard do we need to work and all of the coaches have been pushing them in practice and now they see what it’s like.
“There’s no way, that they’re not gonna go back and set the bar even higher so our season’s gonna be a roller coaster,” she said.
But the roller coaster has yet to reach its peak for the Lady Falcons.
