Adamson Soaring Falcons winless but improving

MANILA, Philippines – It’s no secret that Season 77 is a time of rebuilding for the Adamson Soaring Falcons. 

After altering the team’s look from head coach down to its nearly all-rookie roster, even coach Kenneth Duremdes declared before the season tipped off that his expectations are fair enough for his young squad. 

Though at the very least, everyone expects them to put up a decent fight every game day.

Against the UST Growling Tigers on Saturday, July 26, Adamson stood sturdy and fought back harder.

The Falcons toughed it out against last season’s finalists and even controlled the game for 3 and a half quarters before they eventually bowing to Kent Lao’s free throw as UST escaped with a 50-49 victory.

“There’s a big improvement considering the first two games we lost by 20 points and up,” Duremdes remarked in spite of their 0-3 win-loss record so far.  

“We’re happy about it.”

For their first two games of the season, the Falcons didn’t fare well.

They appeared like they would be offering themselves as punching bags to everybody for the rest of the season as the Blue Eagles devoured them and the Red Warriors blew them out of the water.

In those first two games, Adamson lost by an average margin of 25 points.  

Their execution was weak, their offense was unreliable and their defense was in shambles. 

But they caught UST on a bad day and they proved they can wield the upset ax at any time. 

“The boys are responding now with what we’re doing,” Duremdes said of his cagers who are largely inexperienced and evidently still adjusting. 

Despite the heartbreaking loss, having to deal with the what-ifs and the inevitable dark times ahead of them, Duremdes already sees light at the end of the tunnel.

“They’re starting to believe the system that we’re giving them and the improvement that we’re looking for in them, kahit papaano, unti-unti nandoon na (little by little, it’s there),” he explained. “Pero kulang pa rin (But it’s not enough). The positive thing is they’re responding well now.” 

Small steps 

In their first 3 games, the Falcons have stayed consistent in some aspects and at the same time taken small, careful steps to being a better team.

Their rebounding has been steady with an average of 42 boards per game, putting them at parity with their opponents’ average. 

That bodes well for Duremdes’ goal of pushing his team to be more aggressive on the attack. As of Sunday, July 27, Adamson is 4th in the league in rebounding. 

“We challenge them (players) that they have to be more aggressive and stronger inside,” Duremdes explained. 

“Maliit na nga tayo tapos kung pakaunti kaunting tulak at tapik diyan ay nabibitawan na natin ang bola wala tayong laban.” (We’re already small so if we lose the ball with every nudge or tap then we have no chance.) 

As of July 27, Adamson notched 21.3 turnovers per game, ranking third in most miscues committed so far. 

The Falcons, however, have been stable from the line, shooting a total of 67.1% of their free throws so far and ranking second of the 8 teams just behind the Ateneo Blue Eagles. 

Their most obvious improvement has been in assists. Starting the season with only 6 assists against Ateneo, Adamson upped their dimes to 12 and 15 in their next two games for an average of 11 assists each outing.  

While they are still far from leaders FEU with their 17.3 assists, it’s worth noting how Duremdes has managed to steadily instill in his boys the seemingly minor habit of making the extra pass. 

Against UST, Duremdes said they succeeded in sticking to their game plan to play UST “possession by possession” and to “delay their execution,” but fell through in the pivotal fourth.

They scored only 4 points in the last 10 minutes and gave up 10 points to the Tigers on their way to Jansen Rios eventually committing a crucial turnover within the final 30 seconds, leading to another possession for UST and Lao’s subsequent game-winning free throw.

“UST did not win the game, we gave it to them,” Duremdes admitted.

“That really hurts the team. At the last moment ay gumive up kami. Sayang ang effort ng team.” (At the last moment we gave up. The team’s effort went to waste.) 

Different faces emerge 

A good sign for Duremdes is the fact that he finds varied faces stepping up each game.

Guys like Ivan Villanueva, William Polican and Jessie Pedrosa put themselves on the map as they led Adamson in each of their 3 games with double digit outputs.

Villanueva and Polican were particularly explosive against Ateneo and UE with 15 and 16 points, respectively. While Pedrosa came up with 10 points amid the team’s paltry field goal shooting of 28% against UST.

Meanwhile, with the departure of Jericho Cruz and Ingrid Sewa, the role of leader fell upon the shoulders of veteran Don Trollano Jr, who is already playing in his last year. 

In their loss to the Blue Eagles, Trollano posted 7 points and 8 rebounds. He followed that up with a better showing of 14 points, 8 rebounds, and two assists against the Red Warriors. 

But he was unable to help his team against the Tigers as he served his one-game suspension after incurring a disqualifying foul in their previous match.

The silver lining is he has yet to truly showcase the wares he flaunted in the PBA D-League and he still has an entire season to do so.

For now, Rios leads the Falcons with his 11.3 points, 9 rebounds and two assists per game.

The Falcons’ next assignment is another powerhouse in the National University Bulldogs on Wednesday, July 30. Size will not be on their side. So once again, Duremdes will go to aggression, energy and effort to try and upend the 3-1 Bulldogs.

“We have to be more disciplined. NU is a very disciplined team,” Duremdes explained.

“Obviously we’re undersized. We just have to be more aggressive in attacking the defense especially in the endgame.”

It’s obviously too early to tell, but this season, regardless of where they finish, Adamson will grow up before everybody’s eyes. – Rappler.com