Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
    View Today
    Sun, Nov 5

    Lenda Douanga, picked over Papi Sarr, repays Adamson coach's faith

    Lenda Douanga, picked over Papi Sarr, repays Adamson coach's faith
    Sep 7, 2019
    PHOTO: Marlo Cueto

    IMPROBABLE as Lenda Douanga's game-winning trey was for Adamson, coach Franz Pumaren made it clear that it was the intended play he drew up for the Soaring Falcons in overtime.

    "We don't think that it was a lucky shot. It was a designed play — the last shot," he said before turning to his Congolese big man. "Tell them. It was a play, right?"

    "I told him, Jerrick (Ahanmisi) will be guarded, (Aaron) Fermin will be guarded, Simon (Camacho) will be guarded, so you take the three. It was a designed play," he said before holding back chuckles.

    Pumaren's reaction when the ball swished off of the net, however, told a different story as the four-time UAAP champion coach was as surprised as everyone inside the Big Dome when Douanga's shot from way beyond the top of the arc as time expired.

    Douanga said making threes are no different to him, sharing that he was shooting the rock from distance back in his time in Kinshasa, Congo.

    "Before coming here, in Africa, I was trying to hit three-points," said the 6-foot-11 slotman after firing 26 points, 19 rebounds and one block in the win.

    In Pumaren's eyes, that performance shows the Soaring Falcons made the right move fielding Douanga this season over the more experienced Papi Sarr.

    "It showed probably why we chose him over Papi. I guess the only downside with Lenda is his inexperience. But it showed tonight, he had a monster game," he said, with Douanga's arrival blending perfectly with the youth revolution in San Marcelino.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    SEE ALSO
    SEE ALSO

    "If you look at our team right now, we're slowly rebuilding the team. We’re composed of eight rookies and we want the transition to go smoothly. Papi has just one more year and we’re very thankful for all his services, for all his contributions. But with Lenda, we still have four more years after this. So the transition for the rebuilding is right on target, but we're very, very grateful to Papi for the last four years playing for Adamson."

    Pumaren, however, wouldn't deny the relief he felt with Adamson finally nabbing this breakthrough win in the UAAP Season 82 men's basketball tournament, especially after its 70-52 loss to Ateneo last Wednesday.

    CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓
    Watch Now

    "Actually, this was the hardest game. Why? Because coming up from the opening, what we saw the last time around was really not the Adamson team that we projected. That’s why this win is so important for us, to really settle down and show what we’re capable of doing."

    "When we're down, we were too tight, but we got our bearings slowly and we relaxed again. I guess this is the right scenario for us, for us to make sure that we just have to play within the system and we'll be okay."

    Adamson returns to action against University of the East on Wednesday.

    Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

    Read Next
    Watch Now
    Sorry, no results found for
    PHOTO: Marlo Cueto
  • POLL

    • Quiz

      Quiz Result