Adamson head coach Nash Racela remains defiant even as they face an uphill flight to the Final Four, while acknowledging the type of effort needed from his wards.
Adamson head coach Nash Racela’s faith in his Soaring Falcons remains unshaken even as their Final Four path becomes narrow late into UAAP Season 87’s men’s basketball eliminations.
The Soaring Falcons on Sunday fell 70-59 to the UP Fighting Maroons, dropping them to a 3-7 slate with four games left in eliminations. Despite being a thorn in UP’s side, Adamson ran out of gas as the Fighting Maroons tightened up to pull away during crunch time.
Every game now becomes a must-win if the Falcons want to stay in the playoff race.
“It’s still doable,” Racela told reporters on Sunday. “I think that’s the beauty of this season. Despite the very unstable performances, maybe not just us, going to the last four games, ‘yung chances namin is still within our control.”

“If we really want to advance, then we just need to start winning, so it starts Wednesday [against UE]. It’s not going to be easy, but the important thing is we do our part,” he added.
But Racela knows they have to dig even deeper to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Falcons’ stand against State U is admirable, but such efforts won’t suffice as their path starts to become narrow.
“After the game, ‘yung usapan namin is it’s not enough that you just hang around the teams. Pwede mo sabihin sa aking coach, we’re close against UP, we just lost by a couple of points. Pero sabi ko, this is the time for us to give our little extra for us to win. It’s not enough anymore na you just hang around with them,” he admitted.
Each possession matters
That “little extra” isn’t just limited to endgame situations according to Racela. For him, exerting just a tad bit more effort should already start right after the jump ball.
“It’s more sa mga possessions even sa start ng game. The same way…Sabi ko sa kanila, when Cagulangan hit that three-pointer sa top of the key, that game was very close…They could always say ‘Coach, I was in front of him, I had my hand up’. But that’s not enough,” Racela explained, referring to Cagulangan’s deep triple over Royce Mantua at the 6:16 mark of the fourth quarter.
“You see the shot clock running down three seconds, you say, what will the offense do? Obviously, he will just take the shot. So hindi enough [to contest from afar], we need to get closer. That’s the little extra that I’m talking about. And those things, it’s not on us [coaches] anymore. Sa bilis ng game, hindi ka naman sasabihan ng coach, lapit-lapit. It’s you, because you’re the one playing.”

Still, Racela reiterated his belief in this team. After all, this season was expected to be a transition for the Falcons following key offseason losses, only to find themselves in the middle of the playoff race.
“I have lots of belief in this team. Actually, going to [the UP] game, I was declaring it to be a miracle Sunday. But it did not happen. So that’s how confident I was. I know if we would only do our part, then good things can happen. But today, kulang pa siguro. So yun nga. Maybe we just need to go a little more.”
Up next for the Adamson Soaring Falcons will be the UE Red Warriors on October 31, followed by the NU Bulldogs on November 10, and the UST Growling Tigers on November 16. In between will likely be the Ateneo rematch sidelined by the recent Tropical Storm Kristine.
It won’t be an easy schedule, but Racela knows that his wards remain motivated to play their best down the line as they fight for a Final Four slot.
“[Morale] has been consistent, I guess. Despite consecutive losses, you’ll see naman in the games…I think the best way to answer that is just really watching the games. If you see us competing, then I guess ang morale lang medyo ayos-ayos pa. Hopefully, we still continue to do that,” he said.
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.