Adamson’s Vince Magbuhos. –UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Vince Magbuhos proved Adamson’s offense is not all about Jerom Lastimosa after he waxed hot with seven three-pointers to deliver their second win in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament.
Magbuhos poured 23 points, shooting 7-of-8 from beyond the arc as Adamson took down Far Eastern University, 76-65, on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Coach (Nash Racela) always tells us that we can’t rely on Jerom alone. He also has off games. So everybody needs to step up because basketball is not an individual sport, it’s a team (effort), said the 6-foot-5 winger in Filipino after conspiring with Lastimosa’s 13-point and nine-rebound effort.
Adamson coach Nash Racela lauded his Italy-raised player, who was a revelation against FEU after he only shot 4-of-14 from deep with an average of 7.33 points in their first three games.
“I was thinking after the game, ‘Vince can shoot?’ Now, I’m thinking what if he took those open three-pointers? But Vince’s contribution will really help us moving forward,” Racela said in Filipino.
Racela reiterated that other players like Magbuhos have to step up as Lastimosa has been involving his teammates to orchestrate a well-balanced offense for Adamson.
“I can’t emphasize enough that he (Jerom) has been doing the right things in giving up the ball. I really feel sometimes that he gives up the ball too much even if he needs to take charge. He’s at that point where he’s looking for that balance,” said the Adamson coach.
“We were looking for other guys to step forward. The good thing is, there’s no one guy that stepped forward, but it was a collective team effort, especially on the defensive end. I know those little things would really help us to our next games.”
Magbuhos credited his breakout game to the trust of Racela and his teammates.
“I think I won’t achieve this kind of performance without the confidence and the playing time given to me by our coaches. I’m grateful for our coach’s trust,” he said.
Adamson forced a triple tie at 2-2 with La Salle and University of the East, sharing the fourth to sixth places.
With a season full of surprises after UE stunned La Salle and National University upset University of the Philippines on the same day, the Falcons especially need to take care of business each match as they face the Bulldogs on Saturday.
“It’s very crucial. Every game matters in this tournament, and this season you see a lot of surprises. They say teams are a little bit more balanced now, except for a couple of teams. From our end, the only thing we should be thinking about, at this point is ourselves. You can’t look too far ahead because it’s still a long way to go,” Racela said.
“NU is playing very well as a group. Now, people would see why they are part of my Final Four prediction because they have a more balanced team now with great young guys. It will be a challenge, every game will be a challenge but we’ll try our best to be ready for Saturday’s game,” he added.