“GUSTO niyo pa ba?”
This was the question head coach Nash Racela left hanging over his Adamson wards after one of their most painful losses of UAAP Season 89.
University of the East had just snapped a 30-game losing streak, earning the breakthrough it had spent more than two years chasing.
For the Red Warriors, it was a night of release. For the Soaring Falcons, it was their fourth straight loss and a moment that forced them to confront a more difficult question: How badly did they still want this season?
READ: Adamson shows urgency, drags down Ateneo to joint sixth
Racela knew his players felt the weight of the defeat.
“I’m sure they felt the UE loss. It was really a hard loss, but UE deserved that. They worked for that win and we did not — well, of course, we did but it wasn’t enough,” Racela said.
“I understand the players because it’s not easy for them because they were coming off three losses. Mahirap din.”
So after the shock wore off, Racela challenged his team.
“That’s why when they lost their fourth, that’s the question we had for the team: ‘Gusto niyo pa ba? Do you still have that in you para manalo?’” he added.
The Falcons talked. The answer, at least on Wednesday, came through their play.
Adamson turned back Ateneo to finally arrest its four-game slide and improve to 5-7, a record that keeps the Final Four within reach. The climb remains steep, but the Falcons have at least given themselves a path forward with two games left to play.
“It was their energy that gave them the win, and we hope that we can bring it for the next two games,” Racela said.
Adamson has a tendency, according to its coach, to “sleep” regardless of whether it is coming off a win or a loss. The UE defeat made sure the Falcons could no longer afford to drift.
They have two games left, a Final Four still somewhere in the distance, and a question they have already answered once.
Now comes the harder part: proving just how much they still want it.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
