Falcons eye quick recovery vs Archers

MANILA, Philippines — Adamson coach Franz Pumaren expressed confidence the Falcons can soar once again after crashing down with a heartbreaking 85-88 overtime loss to Far Eastern, their first after a swahsbuckling 5-0 start in UAAP Season 81 men’s hoops.

“It’s a learning experience for us. I think this type of game will make us stronger and better down the road,” said Pumaren after yielding for the first time.

“People are saying ‘sayang ang streak, sayang ang streak’ but you know, that’s why it’s called a streak, it’s meant to be stopped, it’s meant to be broken. At least I guess the pressure of a sweep is off these young kids right now. Probably we dreamt too much that we’re capable of sweeping but I’ve been stressing with our current position, every team will prepare hard for us,” he added.

The Falcons trailed by as many as 17 points at the start of the fourth but mounted a serious rally to claw back into the game and even go ahead at 78-77 on a Sean Manganti looper with 41 seconds left in regulation. Prince Orizu knotted it by making the front end of his freethrows, missed the second but Richard Escoto beat AdU for the offensive rebound and putback that pushed FEU ahead, 80-78. Simon Camacho sent it into extra period with a putback just before the buzzer.

FEU, despite missing top gunner Arvin Tolentino who was slapped a disqualification foul in the fourth, outsteadied AdU in extra time to secure the upset.

“I think it’s the best game of FEU that I’ve seen so far. They played well but partly, we allowed them to play that way,” said Pumaren, whose team conceded the most points this season to the Tams. 

“We were so relaxed during the course of the game but when we started playing the Adamson way of playing defense, we’re able to trim down their lead. I think we made some bad decision in the stretch. We were just one rebound away from winning that game,” he added.

The Falcons eye to bounce back on Saturday against La Salle.