Racela cites Falcons' persistence

MANILA, Philippines — Adamson Falcons head coach Nash Racela tipped his hat to his players for keeping their heads up despite a five-game losing skid in the second round of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.

The Falcons returned the win column after grinding out a 45-37 win over the University of the East on Wednesday, October 30. 

This was payback for the Falcons, whose slump began thanks to a game-winner by UE’s Wello Lingolingo in their previous matchup.

After the game, Racela lauded his players for fighting through obstacles.

“Maganda sa mga players namin, tuloy-tuloy lang. Kahit hindi mo minsan makikita ‘yung mukha because of what we went through, pinilit naman nila. Like Matty [Erolon,] he missed the last game, [Mario] Barasi he missed the last game,” Racela said.

It was a confidence-boosting win for the Falcons, who raised their hopes of making the Final Four. They are currently holding the fifth spot with a 4-7 record behind the 5-6 University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers. 

“In reality, we tried avoiding talking about the Final Four. I'm sure it's always in the back of their minds. But sometimes if you put pressure on yourselves, that's where the struggle happens. Like AJ [Fransman] said, we just want to take it a game at a time,” he said.

The tactician credited their efforts on the team defense by limiting UE’s key players, as well as clamping down the outside shooting of the Red Warriors.

“It's good that we were able to get it today. I think our defense really was commendable. I was looking at the stats, we were able to limit [Wello] Lingolingo, Maga, and Galang when I looked at their 3-point numbers, I was surprised that they only made a three,” Racela said. 

“So ‘yun lang, that's something that we always preach. You Improve yourself, acknowledge mistakes, and understand how you can correct them. Eventually, things will fall into it’s proper place,” he added.

The Falcons now look forward to bringing back their winning momentum when they face National University Bulldogs on November 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum after a long break. — Brent Sagre, intern