Beware of Adamson
Not too many experts thought Adamson would make it to the UAAP senior men’s basketball Final Four this season. The Falcons brought in new coach Franz Pumaren and seven rookies, including four Fil-Ams not used to the local style of play, so the period of adjustment was expected to take at least two years before chemistry could settle in. There was no pressure on Pumaren to rush things. After all, Adamson hadn’t qualified for the semifinals since coach Leo Austria’s feat in 2011. One more year of waiting wouldn’t make much of a difference.
But Pumaren got things going sooner than later as the Falcons won three of their first four games, including upsets over Ateneo, 62-61 and NU, 6451. Suddenly, Adamson looked like a contender with Pumaren pushing the right buttons to create a winning atmosphere earlier than projected.
There’s no question that Pumaren has the ability to build a championship program. He was La Salle’s head coach for 11 years from 1998 to 2009 and delivered six championships, one of which was later forfeited. As a player, Pumaren earned his spurs backstopping Hector Calma on coach Ron Jacobs’ Cinderella squads that won the Jones Cup crown in 1985 and the Asian title in 1986. In the PBA, Pumaren played on nine championship teams with San Miguel Beer and enjoyed a 12year career up to 1998. That rich tradition is what Pumaren, 52, has carried over to Adamson.
This afternoon, Pumaren will be back in the Final Four as No. 4 Adamson faces No. 1 La Salle at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Green Archers finished the double-round eliminations with a 13-1 record to claim the twice-to-beat advantage in their matchup against the Falcons. La Salle’s only setback was to Ateneo, 83-71. The Archers beat Adamson twice, 91-75 and 86-79, in the eliminations. The Falcons’ record is 8-6 with losses to La Salle twice, Ateneo, 73-67, UP, 70-66, UE, 64-57 and FEU, 75-65. La Salle is the only team that Adamson hasn’t beaten this season.
**** For Pumaren, it’s a bitter-sweet situation going against his alma mater. He’s surrounded by former La Salle players Tonichi Yturri, RenRen Ritualo and Don Allado in his coaching staff so the Archer influence is evident. Even Pumaren’s stats tracker on the bench Awoo Lacson came from Taft. But school loyalty takes a back seat to what Pumaren has to do as a professional – it’s a job, nothing personal.
Another former La Salle coach Jong Uichico said the other day the Falcons are a dangerous squad and the Archers can’t afford to take them lightly. He singled out Fil-Ams Jerrick Ahanmisi and Robbie Manalang as the Falcons to watch. Ahanmisi was thumbed down in tryouts with La Salle and Ateneo before Pumaren took a chance on the reed-thin gunner whose older brother Maverick plays for Rain Or Shine in the PBA.
“It’s hard to appreciate Ahanmisi because he’s a smooth player,” said Uichico. “You think he’s not trying hard enough on the court. He doesn’t like to bang because that’s not his game. But he’s a lights-out shooter. Manalang is a point guard who can shoot and create. Everything starts with the point guard and Manalang is a good fit for Adamson.” Other standouts in Pumaren’s cast are 6-8 Cameroon center Papi Sarr, Fil-Ams Sean Manganti and JunJun Espeleta, JD Tungcab, Dawn Ochea and La Salle transferee Terence Mustre whose father Mike used to be a PBA player.
Like Adamson, La Salle didn’t make it to the Final Four last year. Coach Aldin Ayo has transformed La Salle into a fighting unit that likes to press, wreak havoc and run opponents to the ground. He calls it “mayhem” basketball. And like Adamson, La Salle is loaded with rookies, six of them – Ben Mbala, Mark Dyke, Justin Baltazar, Aljun Melecio, Brent Paraiso and Ricci Rivero. Ayo has three Fil-Ams, graduating Julian Sargent and Jason Perkins and Laguna-born Abu Tratter along with four La Salle homegrowners, Melecio, Paraiso and the Rivero brothers Prince and Ricci.
**** Mbala, 21, is this season’s runaway MVP winner with Sarr a distant second. He’s averaging 20.7 points, 16.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots. But it’s skipper Jeron Teng who holds the team together. Teng was on La Salle’s championship squad as a sophomore in 2013 and he’d like nothing better than to end his collegiate career with a second feather in his cap. Another graduating player is point guard Thomas Torres. A key Archer is guard Kib Montalbo who sat out last season recovering from an ACL injury and is now averaging 3.7 assists and 2.9 steals, both team highs.
In La Salle’s win over Adamson last Sept. 24, Mbala was unstoppable with 9-of-11 field goals to finish with 21 points and 16 boards. Teng hit 15, Melecio 13, Montalbo 12 and Torres 11. Ahanmisi scored 22, eight in the first period, and Manalang fired 15. Adamson knocked down 11 triples and shot at a higher clip from beyond the arc than from two-point range. The Archers dominated the boards, 54-32, to win easily.
But in the rematch last Oct. 9, the Archers had to scramble in the homestretch to pull off the win. Adamson came back from 17 down to push within two, time down to 1:26, and it took Montalbo’s triple to bail La Salle out of trouble with 46.7 seconds left. La Salle played without Teng, nursing an injury, but Ricci Rivero filled the gap with 14 points, five rebounds and five dimes. Ahanmisi erupted for 27 points, 11 in the final period while Sarr chipped in 13 and Manganti 12. Although La Salle had more turnover points, 29-14 and bench points, 46-27, the Falcons were in the thick of the battle until the end.
La Salle hopes to crack Adamson’s will early in today’s playoff showdown. Ayo won’t take any chances. He knows the Archers are up against the darkhorse in the race to the throne. It’ll be a struggle either way as both teams thrive in playing break-neck defense.