Val Chauca takes blame for latest Adamson meltdown

Photo from UAAP

ANTIPOLO—Val Chauca quickly emerged as one of Adamson’s leaders in UAAP Season 82. He’s also made a name for himself as a clutch performer, who has consistently delivered for the Falcons.

On Sunday, however, Chauca faltered in the crucial stages of Adamson’s collapse against University of the Philippines.

The Falcons were well on their way to bolstering their Final Four bid when they held a 72-60 lead at the start of the fourth before the Fighting Maroons battled back for an 81-77 win.

Chauca was superb in the first half,  scoring 17 points but fizzled out in the final two quarters where he scored just two points while also turning the ball over thrice in the fourth frame.

“As a veteran, coach Franz (Pumaren) expects a lot more sign of leadership,” said Chauca in Filipino Sunday at Ynares Center here. “It’s on me. I take full responsibility.”

Chauca is in his first and last year of UAAP eligibility after already receiving a bachelor’s degree from University of California in Berkeley and he expressed his disappointment over his own disastrous performance in the payoff period.

The explosive guard went 1-of-2 from the field as he looked lost in the offense and spent most of the shot clock dribbling the ball instead of finding his shot or looking for open teammates.

“I’m a veteran on the team and I can’t make mistakes like that,” said Chauca, who’s now studying Master of Business Administration. “I’m definitely disappointed with myself. I pretty much worked my whole life to get to this point and what happened today was a heartbreaker.”