Pumaren rues Falcons’ cold shooting in close loss to Maroons

Adamson University is forced to use its twice-to-beat advantage after it lost to University of the Philippines, 73-71, in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball Final Four, but its head coach Franz Pumaren isn’t too concerned of his team’s predicament.

Pumaren said he’s not stressing over the fact that the Soaring Falcons, who finished the eliminations with a 10-4 record as the second seeds, will take on the No. 3 Fighting Maroons (8-6) once more to decide who goes to the finals.

“If there’s concern with regards to this game then, do I look concerned about it?” asked Pumaren Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena. “Do I look stressed about it?”

Maybe it was UP’s defense or just a cold shooting performance but the Falcons hardly ever found a good scoring rhythm except for their sudden eruption in the fourth quarter wherein they made 10 of their 19 attempts.

The Soaring Falcons were miserable in the first three quarters, shooting an abysmal 14-of-49 from the field, or 28.6 percent.

UP, meanwhile, had a more respectable showing through the third quarter when it converted 24 of its 55 shot attempts for a 43.6 percent clip.

“We were down the whole game but when we started playing the right way, the right brand of game we were able to get back,” said Pumaren.

The Falcons came alive in the fourth quarter going on a 26-11 run to take a 69-65 lead after Sean Manganti’s layup with 2:18 left in the game.

Manganti also tied the game at 71 with 3.7 seconds to play, but it was UP’s day as center Bright Akhuetie shot the game-winner from pointblank with 2.6 seconds left.

Another factor in Adamson’s demise was its terrible shooting from beyond the arc when it made just one in 22 attempts courtesy of Jerrick Ahanmisi at the 6:18 mark of the fourth that cut UP’s lead to three, 60-57.

“We shot 1-of-22 from three so I guess we should’ve gotten this victory even though we played badly,” said Pumaren.