Falcons o Maroons?

MANILA, Philippines — Parehong uhaw ang Adamson Soaring Falcons at University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons sa Finals stint sa kanilang sagupaan ngayon sa do-or-die battle para sa huling championship slot ng Season 81 UAAP basketball tournament sa Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Huling pumasok ang Soaring Falcons sa Finals noon pang 1992 habang nasikwat naman ng Fighting Maroons ang unang Final Four appearance simula noon pang 1997.

Kahit nanalo ang UP laban sa Adamson, 73-71 sa opening game ng semis noong Sabado, tinalo naman ng Soaring Falcons ng dalawang beses ang Fighting Maroons sa elimination kaya halos patas pa rin ang labanan sa kanilang pagtatagpo sa alas-3:30 ng hapon.

Unang tinalo ng Adamson ang UP, 69-68 sa first round ng elims noong Sept. 26 at sinundan ng 80-72 panalo sa second round noong Oct. 28.

“They’re not the kind of team that’s just gonna fold right away. Kung iba pa yan, natambakan mo na dapat, but Adamson, with a very good coach in coach Franz, alam mo na hindi tapos yan hangga’t ‘di mo naririnig ang final buzzer,” sabi ni UP coach Bo Perasol.

Ayon kay Perasol na mas lalong matatag ang buong koponan bunga ng magandang panalo noong Sabado kung saan umiskor si Bright Akhuetie sa huling 2.6 segundo upang itakas ang mala-king panalo at burahin ang twice-to-beat advantage ng Adamson.

“If the heads of our players will be our gauge, I can see that they refused to lose. So that we just need to do it all again,” dagdag ni Perasol.

Sa panig naman ng Soaring Falcons ay hangga’t hindi pa tapos ang laban, pipilitin nilang masungkit ang panalo at upang manatiling buhay ang asam na ikalawang titulo simula 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. We just want to stay together, that’s the good part. You can really see that we never give up and that’s really the best part about our team, that we never give up,” pahayag naman ni Sean Manganti.