That’s why he’s here — he’s here to guide this young team
VALANDRE Chauca (right) leads Adamson past UST. DAVID JOHN CUBANGBANG
And Valandre Chauca made sure to deliver.
The Filipino-Peruvian sensation engineered an explosive endgame rally to lift the Soaring Falcons to a 78-71 win over University of Santo Tomas in the Season 82 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Meanwhile, University of the Philippines (UP) escaped by the skin of its teeth as it eked out an 80-79 win over National University in the first game.
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Kobe Paras registered 25 points while Bright Akhuetie chipped in 19 markers and 12 rebounds for the Fighting Maroons, who had to thwart the furious endgame rally by the Bulldogs to run away with their third win in four outings.
Chauca, who attended University of California Berkeley before having a brief stint in the Philippine Basketball Association D-League, sparked a 16-0 run in the final 3:07 to help the Falcons coast to their third win in five games.
Chauca delivered 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter on top of eight assists and six rebounds while Jerrick Ahanmisi led the scoring parade with 24 points on an impressive 40 percent from the rainbow territory.
“First of all, we needed that win,” said Adamson coach Franz Pumaren, admitting that his players played with low morale following their heart-breaking 82-83 loss to UP over the weekend.
“If you notice the body language of our players, they are still sulking. Probably, if I didn’t stop coaching, that our difference with UST had ballooned already. I just had to tell everybody to stay on course.”
Pumaren, who handled a lot of talented playmakers like Renren Ritualo, Mike Cortez and Mac Cardona over the course of his colorful coaching career, was greatly impressed with the performance of Chauca — a one-and-done player.
“That’s why he’s here — he’s here to guide this young team,” he said.
Chauca, who played for Endurun in the Aspirants’ Cup of the D-League, said they just stuck with their game plan and played their hearts out.
“We knew the game plan and we exactly knew what they were going to do,” he said.
“At the end of the day, this game is all about heart.”
Beninese bruiser Soulemane Chabi Yo tallied 17 points and 15 rebounds while skipper CJ Cansino had 10 markers and five boards for the Growling Tigers, who crashed back to earth after winning over NU in its previous game.
