Adamson University head coach Nash Racela is mighty proud of what his team has achieved despite all the adversities it faced in its campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 men’s basketball tournament.
Although coming up short of a return stint to the Final Four, Racela and the Falcons left the Mall of Asia Arena with heads held high while being showered by Adamson faithful with cheers and applause.
Left out as one of the favorites to finish at the Top 4 during the pre-season and had to charge sans injured veteran Jerom Lastimosa for most of the season, the Falcons defied the odds to come close to a semis berth.
Although it was not the kind of fairytale ending Racela would have wanted, Adamson proved that it can contend with the big guns.
“I always say I’m proud of my team. I’ve been consistent even at the start of the season, nobody gave us a chance,” Racela said following the Falcons’ season exit in a 48-70 loss to defending champion Ateneo de Manila University last Wednesday in the playoff for the last Final Four berth.
“Who would have imagined that after two to three months of playing, we would be playing for a slot in the Final Four? As a coach you should be happy and proud of how your players competed,” he added.
“So, if somebody else sees it in another way, then, maybe he needs eye surgery.”
Adamson battled Ateneo for a third time this season after splitting their first two meetings in the elimination round. The Falcons forced a playoff after surviving two must-win games to end the elims for a 7-7 win-loss record tied with the Blue Eagles.
However, Adamson’s wings got clipped early as Ateneo pulled away behind its fiery outside shooting that the Falcons failed to extinguish.
Still, Racela was grateful for what his wards had shown the whole season despite all the challenges thrown at them.
“Very, very proud of my team, of our team. So many ups and downs, really an emotional roller coaster even to the last day,” Racela said of his team, which missed the semis a year after winning another playoff for the fourth seed in Season 85 Final Four over De La Salle University.
“Well, the team is on an emotional low. Last time we talked about Cedric Manzano choosing to play despite his dad being in the hospital. Well, he lost his dad. That’s something that we learned yesterday. That’s why we are not really looking at the results, really how the boys played,” Racela continued.
The playoff match did not lack drama even if the scoreline read as lopsided.
Seconds away from the final buzzer, Ateneo’s Kyle Gamber handed the ball over to Lastimosa, who made a surprise appearance in his final UAAP playdate while nursing a complete left anterior cruciate ligament tear, for the final shot.
Lastimosa, whose only other stint of the season was at the start of the second round in a blowout loss to University of the Philippines where he sustained his collegiate career-ending injury, made the buzzer-beating triple. The guard missed the first round due to a partial tear on the same knee.
“It’s an unforgettable moment for me because that was the last shot of my UAAP career,” Lastimosa said as he left a stat line of three points in two minutes and 17 seconds of action.
While the players on court engaged in one final gesture of sportsmanship, a verbal altercation between Racela and Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin in the last 53 seconds of the third had them whistled for double technical fouls.
Both coaches kept their intimate exchange of words under wraps.
“You really want the truth about what he said? You wanna know what came out of his mouth? It’s not for kids to hear. So, they’re gonna read when I talk about it so I won’t say it anymore,” Racela said.
