Racela weighs Adamson’s chances into Final Four

Due to Jerom Lastimosa’s ACL tear, the Soaring Falcons will be without him for their next five games of Round 2, but head coach Nash Racela revealed that the San Marcelino-based team is already getting past this tragic news and positive in making it into the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Competing in most of their games without the King Falcon, Racela remarked, “We’ve been in that situation the whole year.”

“Actually, medyo up and down [kami] for that reason. Puro hanap sa kaliwa, hanap sa kanan, but I’m sure our players are up to the challenge naman especially now.”

Adamson is now in the fourth position in the rankings with a comparable performance against Ateneo de Manila University, having accumulated a 4-5 record after its first nine games.

This is true even though Lastimosa only participated in one game this season—he showed up in a cameo during their matchup with the University of the Philippines.

Before leaving the game early, he had played eight minutes and eighteen seconds, scoring three points, grabbing two rebounds, and a block.

Racela is aware of how difficult it will be to replace Lastimosa. However, the former PBA coach is optimistic that Adamson can still place themselves in a solid position to advance to the semifinals by working together.

Racela said, “Yung Jerom Lastimosa, mahirap punuan.”

“It will be a collective thing for the team. From player number one to player number 15, it’s really all the contributions that they could give —positive contributions,” he continued.

“It’s going to be a collective contribution from everyone. We’re not really specific to guys like Joem Sabandal and [Matthew Montebon], Matt [Erolon], and even Jed [Colonia], it’s more [like] lahat.”

“It’s a struggle, but as long as there’s a window, there’s hope. Makikita mo naman when you look at the standings.” Racela emphasized, “I just want them to look at the big picture and look at the positive side of things,”

“As long as magtulong-tulong sila, I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

But before they can accomplish this, Racela is pushing them to fortify themselves even more in the run-up to their crucial Season 86 campaign games.

Speaking of their 63-54 triumph over Far Eastern University on Sunday, he stated, “[More] consistency, and I think, developing grit because every game will be like this.”