MANY may dwell on Adamson’s supposed collapse against the University of the Philippines on Saturday, but Mathew Montebon would rather look at it as proof that the San Marcelino side does have what it takes to hang with the big boys.
“I just think being able to do this against the best team in the league, it shows that we could do it against any team,” he said on the heels of the Soaring Falcons’ tough 69-57 defeat to the Fighting Maroons.
READ: UP fights back from horror 9-31 start to frustrate Adamson
Adamson actually started like a house on fire, taking a 31-9 lead early in the second frame thanks to its hot shooting before UP woke up from its slumber and regained its groove.
From there, the perimeter shooting just soured on the San Marcelino side and left the window open for State U to stage the comeback – which they did.
“We got away from what was working for us,” Montebon said. “We got a little too excited with the way the game is going, got a little too lazy on defense, and we stopped sharing the ball on offense.”
As tough as this defeat was, it only magnified the things the Soaring Falcons can still improve on, with the 6-foot guard noting: “You never want to lose a game like that, but that’s something we can learn from, just to continue to play the right way the whole game.”
'Surprising Falcons,' still
Nonetheless, Montebon feels like the performance that the Soaring Falcons had, not just from this game, but the whole UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, is an indication that they are indeed better than what many projected.
“I know a lot of people ranked us low, didn’t expect too much from us. But seeing how we played against some of the top teams, for sure we earned everybody’s respect,” he said, believing that Adamson’s 3-3 record is no fluke and rather, could have been better.
“I’m still happy with 3-3. It’s better than what many expected, but I feel we could at least be 4-2.”
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