ON the heels of Adamson’s first defeat in UAAP Season 81, coach Franz Pumaren reminded his wards to stay true to its character.
The multi-titled bench tactician hammered down the importance of defense to the system of the Soaring Falcons, more so now as they try to rise from their shock overtime defeat to FEU on Sunday.
"Our mindset is we could not outscore the other teams. We're winning because of our defense. We're not that type of swash-buckling team that will blow any team away. We're just a regular Joe and a blue-collar type of team. We have to work hard in every possession, work hard every time on defense," he said as his side dropped to 5-1.
Prior to the game, Adamson had been solid on the defensive end, ranking second in points allowed with 68.6 points and second in field goal percentage allowed with 36.9-percent per outing.
But in this duel, FEU scored 88 points on a 44-percent clip from the field.
Pumaren would have none of that.
"I think you've seen this is the first time we gave up so many points," he said, acknowledging the failure of the Soaring Falcons to stop the Tamaraws in their early rampage that saw the latter grab a 17-point lead in the third quarter.
"This is the best game of FEU that I've seen all season. They played well, but of course, it's because partly, we allowed them to play that way. We're so relaxed during the course of the game, allowed them open shots, and simple penetrations."
Adamson did play fine defense late, fighting back and almost completing the comeback in the extra period.
"When we started playing the Adamson way of playing defense, we were able to trim down their lead. Down the stretch when we needed shots, we were able to stop them. That's why the question for us is how to play aggressive defense, not only during the closing part of the game but from the start," he said.
"We made some bad decisions down the stretch, but to me, we're just one rebound away from winning that game."