MANILA, Philippines — The Adamson Soaring Falcons are not discounting themselves from the playoff race even as they face a tougher final game of eliminations compared to their rivals La Salle come Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After taking care of business against the NU Bulldogs on Saturday, Adamson kept at pace with La Salle, who will still play against the UE Red Warriors later today.
Despite La Salle having the lighter assignments against the also-ran UE and UST in their final game, Adamson said that they are just as determined to claim the final spot in the Final Four.
"Well actually, a lot of people are counting us out already. Because they want La Salle to make it to the Final Four. I don't know, maybe they're anticipating Ateneo No. 1 and La Salle No. 4 for the semis. I know how people think," said Adamson head coach Nash Racela.
"We want to counter that. That's actually our goal. Expectation and reality are always different, so yeah, we'll try our best," he added.
Graduating point guard Jerom Lastimosa continued to be the hero for Adamson as he nailed the game-winning triple with five seconds left on the clock to help the Falcons beat NU, 64-63.
Lastimosa, who continues to play through an injury, keeps his eyes glued on Wednesday's game.
"We still have a chance na makapasok sa Final 4, kasi kung titingnan mo lang sa four games namin, talagang ang ganda ng nilaro namin sa last four games namin. So one game at a tie, and one more na lang, one more push just to make it to the Final 4," he said.
Adamson's clash against Ateneo caps off the elimination round as they play in the main game on November 30 at 4:00 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.