Past irrelevant for Falcons in KO game vs Red Warriors

MANILA, Philippines -- Everything is now out the window for the Adamson Soaring Falcons, as they aim to make it to the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.

Adamson earned a playoff for the fourth and final seed after blasting the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday evening, 69-55, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Now, the Falcons will take on the University of the East Red Warriors for the coveted semifinal spot, where the winner will face defending champions La Salle Green Archers.

After the game, Adamson head coach Nash Racela said that the past does not matter any longer, as it will already be “a totally different ballgame.”

“When you get into the playoffs, you get into a knockout game, yung mga nangyari before wala na yun e. Ang lagi ko sinasabi sa kanila expect na hindi mangyayari yung mga nangyari dati,” he told reporters.

The two teams split their elimination round matchups. UE won in the first round, 63-62 thanks to a game-winning jumper by Wello Lingolingo, before the Soaring Falcons won a low-scoring game, 45-37, in the second round.

“It will be a totally different ball game so you don’t really know what to expect but sa amin gagawin pa rin namin yung [dapat naming gawin],” Racela added.

However, he underscored that they will have a limited time to prepare for the Red Warriors, but they will do their part to prepare the players.

This is the third straight season that the San Marcelino-based squad will compete for a Final Four spot via the playoff route.

Racela stressed that the team is “willing to go through that every year, if that’s our shot to make it to the Final Four.”

“We’re just thankful, really really grateful that the Lord blessed us with this win today. Alam ko yung mga players namin really deserve it, because we still have a chance. It’s something we preach to them. As long as you do your part, you will get rewarded,” he said.

Adamson finished the eliminations with a 6-8 win-loss record, similar to UE.

The two teams will face each other on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.