Thats what Adamson coach Franz Pumaren and Far Eastern U counterpart Olsen Racela told their troops after falling prey to their potential Final Four rivals in the UAAP Season 80 basketball tournament over the weekend.
“We made mental mistakes in the endgame. There was some confusion on the defensive rotation. But basically it was a good game,” said Pumaren, trying his best to stay positive despite Adamson’s fourth loss – all against La Salle and powerhouse Ateneo – against six victories, still good for third spot.
Like the Falcons, the Tamaraws got off to an encouraging start but suddenly went cold down the stretch when the Blue Eagles raised their defensive intensity a notch higher on the way to a 70-59 victory – their 10th straight – and the first semis berth.
“We lost our discipline. We gave them direct lines to the basket,” lamented Racela of their defensive breakdown in the final period where they allowed the Eagles to score in bunches after slowing them down in the first 30 minutes of play.
Offensively, the Tamaraws also went cold in the crunch, making just three field goals as they resorted to isolation plays and poor shot selections, often leading to easy buckets by the Blue Eagles in transition.
“Nagkanya-kanya kami and against a team like Ateneo hindi pwede ‘yun,” added Racela. “Kailangan we have to play consistent basketball for the whole 40 minutes. Bigyan mo ng puwang ‘yun they’ll take advantage.”
The painful loss was the fifth overall against as many wins for FEU, which stays at fourth spot but remains in danger of losing ground to fellow semis contenders University of the Philippines and National University.
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