ADAMSON may have dropped its opening game in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament, but it proved to coach Nash Racela that his team has what it takes to compete with the best of them.
"Sinabi ko sa kanila, 'Ano, kaya niyo ba? Mukha namang kaya niyo.' So I think that's one realization that they had because preseason we lost twice to La Salle and by a big margin," he said after his side took the slim 60-58 loss to La Salle on Saturday.
But as much as he spins this defeat in a positive light, Racela also emphasized to the Soaring Falcons that there's a world of difference between competing and winning.
"We don't settle with just competing against the stronger teams. Syempre gusto pa rin namin sanang kunin ang panalo," he said.
READ: Manzano, Adamson prove they shouldn't be overlooked in UAAP S88
Truth be told, Adamson lured La Salle into playing its own game, making their duel a defensive struggle which stymied the uber-talented Taft side and limiting their scoring output as the high-octane Green Archers shot just 35-percent and committed 16 turnovers.
"That's an achievement for us, that we limited them to 60 points," Racela said.
"But it also tells the other teams in the UAAP that a team like La Salle can be limited to that number, so La salle will prepare more on how could they increase that again to 70s and the 80s. At least for today, we've done our part defensively minus some mistakes."
To the Adamson shot-caller, it's also a step in the right direction as the San Marcelino boys proved to him that they can uphold their defensive intensity despite the roster turnover they dealt with in the offseason.
"To be honest, this is something that I told the team as early as February, that I think the challenge this year for us is how to be tough defensively because last year we were no. 1 sa defense. But we lost [Joshua] Yerro, [Jhon] Calisay, [Eli] Ramos, and [Mario] Barasi. So those are our defenders," Racela elaborated.
"I think this year there are improvements offensively because may mas mga nakaka-shoot sa amin ngayon. But defensively, medyo nagdududa ako sa kanila. What this game tells us is that because a team like La Salle, you limit them to 60 points, tells a lot, na kaya pala namin."
And that's really how it's going to be for the Soaring Falcons: that defense won't only win them games but hopefully soon, that will lead to championships as well.
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