(Editor's note: This is the sixth of a series of team previews for the UAAP Season 84.)
UAAP Preview: Adamson
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN? After making it to the Final Four for the past three seasons, Adamson was supposed to peak towards making the leap.
Instead, the Soaring Falcons plummeted out of contention and stumbled to a 4-10 record, easily the worst slate for decorated coach Franz Pumaren in his tenure in San Marcelino.
Undeniably, it's a forgettable final year for the likes of Jerrick Ahanmisi, Simon Camacho, and one-and-done Val Chauca as they leave Adamson with their heads shaking in disbelief with how this season turned out to be as they all turned pro.
Pumaren also hung his coaching board for good as he sought a congressional seat for the third district of Quezon City in the upcoming elections.
WHAT NOW? It might feel like a changing of the guard at Adamson, but one thing working for it is stability.
The torch is now passed to unheralded guard Jerom Lastimosa as he finally gets his chance to lead the Soaring Falcons the way he was supposed to the last time out.
Standouts from the Baby Falcons program led by Joem Sabandal as well as Congolese big man Lenda Douanga are also back as they hope that the baptism of fire they had in UAAP Season 82 can finally bring better fruits in this campaign.
Unfortunately, budding forward AP Manlapaz is in danger of missing this season after a knee injury suffered during the team's preparations.
WHAT'S NEXT? Nash Racela, a former UAAP champion coach in his own right, inherits this young Adamson crew as the Soaring Falcons want nothing else but to overachieve in their first year of partnership.
It seems like a match made in heaven as Racela once again gets an opportunity to handle an unsung team dreaming to make a big impact in the league -- this time with a legitimate chance to be elite in the long run.
High school recruits Joaquin Jaymalin and Matty Erolon are priming themselves to be foundational pieces for the future, but just like everything in Adamson this year, they will first have to be put through the wringer.
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