MANILA, Philippines—Val Chauca only has one shot as a one-and-done recruit at Adamson.
So far, he’s making each moment count.
Chauca showed why his coach Franz Pumaren went all in on him after spearheading the Falcons’ fourth quarter rally from 13 down to stun University of Santo Tomas.
“We got a big lift from Val. That’s why he’s here. He’s here to guide this young team,” Pumaren said after a 78-71 victory Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Chauca shot 18 points, 11 coming in the final frame including 10 straight that gave the Falcons the lead for good, 71-70, with a minute to go.
“We knew the game plan we knew exactly what they were gonna do. But at the end of the day, this was about all heart,” the Fil-Peruvian guard said.
“It was really ugly on the offensive end. We didn’t really play too efficiently. A lot of careless turnovers, myself included. But at the end of the day, if you just fight. This came down to what’s inside like your heart. It was all heart. I’m just glad we came out with the win and I’m glad we did it as a team.”
Five games into his lone UAAP season, Chauca is just relishing the experience.
“Experiences like this it goes further than basketball. It’s really beyond basketball. Coach Franz often preaches in the locker room how you are going to be off the court as a man. When things go bad, when things go wrong, are you just gonna collapse in defeat or are you gonna get up and keep fighting, keep pushing?”
Adamson hiked its record to 3-2 to claim a share of third place with University of Santo Tomas. The Falcons have long ways to go and Chauca is just getting started.
“The goal is pretty simple, go to the finals, win the finals. Personally, I wanna win the MVP. I wanna be very efficient, keep my turnovers down. Shoot it efficiently. I just wanna keep winning.”