Living a dream: Pumaren’s vision for Adamson accelerates

MANILA, Philippines – The final buzzer echoed around the walls of the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, but mixed with the sounds of joy resonating from the players wearing Adamson colors of white and blue, the sound indicating the end of the game felt mute.

There’s so much passion in college basketball, especially when it comes to the unexpected. 

You feel the sorrow of student-athletes when they’re on the losing end, singing their alma mater hymn with fellow students who are just as emotional. And in victory, it’s hard not to bask along in their glory. 

On Wednesday, November 9, the Adamson Soaring Falcons celebrated like they had just won a championship, when in fact all they did was defeat the lowly UST Growling Tigers (3-10) to improve to a 7-5 record and clinch a ticket to the UAAP Final Four for the first time since 2011.

Minutes later, Coach Franz Pumaren, draped in his classic attire: a short-sleeved polo, jeans, and loafers purchased from who knows what country, beamed with joy as he entered the press room; almost like a child who was told he could stay up past his bed time.

“If I’m dreaming right now, I hope I won’t wake up,” he said, a smile going as wide as it can.

When Pumaren ended his 7-year sabbatical from coaching college hoops by accepting the offer to become Adamson basketball’s “CEO” last December, he immediately had a vision for the team: be competitive in their first year, make some noise in the second season, and rack up the championships after – just like he did in La Salle in what now feels like forever ago.

There was work to be done before thinking of a winning season: installing a tough to learn but effective system, finding the right players to fit the style of play, and recruiting better talent to match up against rivals.

Were there going to be bumps along the road? Of course. Victories were to be fought for, but not always expected. The Falcons dropped to 4-5 early in the second round, looking a lot like a team primed for eventual greatness but still a work in progress, although they’ve sped up that narrative in the last 3 games, which included a close victory over the defending champion FEU Tamaraws.

“I think right now we’re living a dream. I feel we surprised a lot of basketball fanatics. We were able to fast track everything,” Pumaren explained.

“Like what I mentioned even in the preseason, we’re looking at 2017. We just wanted this year to be very competitive.

“But I guess my players, they want to attend that advanced party, and they were able to embrace and accept what they were supposed to do, that’s why we’re here.”

His coaching acumen was never an issue. The young roster, however, had question marks. But the Falcons quickly found two leaders in Rob Manalang and rookie sensation Jerrick Ahanmisi who can also fill up the scoreboard, complementing the inside game of big man Papi Sarr who has learned to become more team-oriented instead of trying to prove his worth. 

Along the way, guys like Sean Manganti, Terence Mustre, Dawn Ochea, Nico Paranada, and Jonathan Espeleta also pitched in, making Adamson look more like a legitimate Final Four squad instead of just a placeholder for the better rosters to come.

And that’s why making the Final Four – which is something other teams do regularly – matters to this year’s Falcons, hence the exaggerated celebration after taking down UST. They’ve already exceeded the expectations, and are primed to accomplish even more. Why not jump up and down at the small triumphs along the way?

“I’m at a lost for words. Since I got here to Adamson, I knew the basketball history wasn’t that great, and I really wanted to change that, be a part of something great,” Manalang said after scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting against the Tigers.

“Ever since Coach Franz and the new players came in, I knew we could do it as long as we worked hard and we stayed together.”

Ahanmisi, who also had 16 and has established himself as arguably the most lethal outside threat in the league, was in his own words, “speechless.”

“I knew that we were going to make it this far as a team if we just followed what Coach Franz told us to do and just for us to never be satisfied where we are and what we’ve accomplished. I think that we just have to keep moving forward now.”

From a certain vantage point – especially for long-time fans of the team who have suffered losing season after another – what else Adamson accomplishes from here on out in 2016 is gravy. Pumaren was given the keys to a program and with it quite the leeway to build a solid foundation, and in year one, he’s already delivered. It’s not there yet, but Adamson is turning into a college hoops hot bed.

But Pumaren also became the accomplished coach he is today by having the competitive fervour matched by only very little. The Falcons are only one game behind in the loss column of FEU and Ateneo (both 8-4) for the second seed and remaining twice-to-beat advantage. Adamson still has a game remaining against the Tamaraws, and with another unexpected but welcomed accomplishment on the line, rest assured they will not shy away from the challenge.

“I guess we’re the gate crasher right now in this Final Four dance, and with this opportunity, might as well make the most out of it,” said Pumaren.

“I think they embrace it already,” he added about his team facing the pressure and added spotlight. “I think they know that in this kind of situation, they have to accept the fact they’ll be under the limelight, pressure will be there. It’s just a matter of accepting the challenge.”

Many say that true happiness is in the journey of a mission, not the final destination. According to Pumaren, “Nobody I guess expected us to be here in the Final Four.” But the journey the team has embarked on has brought them here, and the head coach wants his boys to keep riding the coattails.

“We’re living the dream, and we continue dreaming, we continue with our journey.” – Rappler.com