Adamson coach Nash Racela during a game against NU in UAAP Season 87.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Heading into a crucial clash with National University, Adamson coach Nash Racela reminded the Falcons about the potential risks of playing against a desperate and resurgent Bulldogs side.

Wary of NU’s recent surge after it took down title favorite University of the Philippines and Final Four contender University of Santo Tomas, Racela put a premium on defense that did wonders for Adamson, which kept itself in the Final Four fight and eliminated the Bulldogs from contention on Sunday.

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“The last two games that they had against UP and UST, we watched them closely. Nakita namin that they really start very well. If you won’t be able to contain them, medyo magbabayad ka talaga. That’s why start pa lang ng game, that’s the warning we gave our players. The whole week, actually,” Racela said after steering his squad to a 53-41 victory. “Every day, I warned our team about how strong and explosive NU is. So good enough that we were able to at least contain them from the start.”

READ: UAAP: Adamson stays in Final Four hunt, boots out NU

AJ Fransman rose to the challenge, putting up a career-high 18 points and tallying 11 rebounds and three assists to boost their Final Four chances with an improved 5-7 record behind No. 3 University of the East (6-6) and fourth seed UST 6-7.

“Sabi nga ni Coach Nash, the stars are aligned for us pero we just have to do our part. We can only control kung ano yung nasa control namin so, tinake to heart namin yun and happy ako na nagawa naman namin,” said Fransman. 

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“Nag-stick lang ako sa system. Ginagawa ko lang yung mga gustong ipagawa ng mga coaches. I think I’m slowly understanding yung gusto ng mga coaches,” he added.

READ: UAAP: Adamson responds to challenge, revives Final Four hopes

Racela was pleased with Fransman’s progress after the transferee from Enderun Colleges has been exceeding his expectations.

With two more games against UST on Saturday and also-ran Ateneo, Racela stressed the importance of their battle with the Growling Tigers. 

“We have a couple of days to prepare for UST. That’s a very crucial, crucial game for us. Actually, if we want to advance, that’s actually the game… Well hindi pa advance, but to give ourselves a really good chance. It’s not 100% yet but that’s the game na kailangan maipanalo din namin,” said Racela. “Time is on our side, mapapagaralan namin mabuti and hopefully, our players again will be able to embrace what our gameplan will be.”