HEAD COACH: Nash Racela (fourth season)
LAST SEASON: 7-7 (lost to Ateneo in fourth seed playoff)
HOLDOVERS: Cedrick Manzano, Joshua Yerro, Mathew Montebon, Jhon Calisay, Manu Anabo, OJ Ojarikre
SUBTRACTIONS: Jerom Lastimosa, Vince Magbuhos, Joem Sabandal, Didat Hanapi, Jed Colonia
ADDITIONS: Royce Mantua (UST), AJ Fransman (Enderun), Austin Ronzone, Carl Alexander
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NASH Racela knows that not many expect Adamson to make a deep run this UAAP Season 87.
Heck, he knows that a lot of pundits project them to be near the bottom - if not dead last - this year.
And to a degree, he concurs. After all, it hasn’t been the easiest of buildups in San Marcelino.
“It will be very challenging. Not just the season, but even the preseason was very challenging,” he said.
Losing Jerom Lastimosa hurts, but remember, the star guard only suited up for two games last season due to a knee injury. What aggravates Adamson’s dire situation is the departure of the other guys; with key players Vince Magbuhos, Joem Sabandal, and Didat Hanapi all leaving their nest.
READ: Mathew Montebon out to break preseason projections for Adamson
“Medyo mabigat. It’s like you lost your starting five already,” the mentor sighed.
Injuries compounded the Soaring Falcons’ woes, with hurting players preventing them from really having a complete core.
“Yung players namin in and out [of the lineup]. We haven’t really had a chance to have the complete 16 players on the floor,” he lamented.
Falcons, let's go! Falcons, let's fight!
But despite the odds not really favoring Adamson, Racela said that his crew have no other option but to pick themselves up and fight.
As he put it, “It is what it is. That’s how college ball is: you continuously lose people and you continue to develop new guys.”
The only constant for the Soaring Falcons right now is Cedrick Manzano, who will once again be the focal point of the attack, as he battles opposing bigs down low.
The Romblon native put Adamson on his back last season, averaging 8.1 points and 6.5 rebounds all while facing stiff opposition in the paint. Despite issues in his conditioning, he has worked his way to shape as he stakes his claim among the best local bigs in the amateur ranks today.
Senior wingers Joshua Yerro and Jhon Calisay will also be counted on to deliver in their final year, with Racela anticipating them to break out in their UAAP swansong.
On the other hand, the jury is still out for the guards, as Mathew Montebon and Eli Ramos aim to seize the spotlight as they inherit the spots that Lastimosa and Sabandal left.
Unlike the past seasons, wins may be hard to come by for Adamson this year, and Racela is realistic enough to realize that.
All he wants to see from his players is grit: that whatever results are, his boys give it their all and lay it all out on the floor.
“Sa amin kasi, it’s always that we want to give all the teams competition. Dapat laging ganoon. Other teams can’t go to the game thinking it’s gonna be a walk in the park,” he said.
Expectations, though, are just that and games are still to be played on the court. No one’s counted out yet, especially Adamson, and who knows, they might just spring surprises despite these meager predictions placed on their shoulders.
“We’ll give everybody a good challenge and hopefully by doing that, we’ll steal some wins and eventually crack the Final Four again,” Racela winked. “We’ll see.”
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The Adamson Soaring Falcons' first assignment in Season 87 is against the FEU Tamaraws on Sunday, September 8 at the Araneta Coliseum.
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