By Waylon Galvez
The result was so painful that Adamson’s top gunner Sean Manganti unabashedly cried in front of some 20,000 fans Wednesday after the Falcons – seeded No. 2 – lost to the University of the Philippines Maroons in their do-or-die match for the last UAAP finals berth.
The chances to end his collegiate career looked encouraging at the start but the 6-foot-3 Fil-Am forward just could not sustain it and ended up very frustrated.
Clearly he gave his best for the game, but the Maroons were just too ready and clever on the night both teams attempted to make UAAP history.
With tears flowing and teammates trying to comfort him, Manganti waved to Adamson faithful for one last time before apologizing for falling short in their bid to reach the finals this time, losing to the Maroons, 89-87, in overtime.
Manganti still wants to be remembered by the Falcons faithful as a winner.
“I just hope that I’ll be remembered as one that left it’ll on the floor, one that gave his life to Adamson gave his heart to Adamson and sacrifice everything for Adamson without regret,” said Manganti.
“Hopefully as a winner, competitive,” added the Fil-Am Manganti, who joined Adamson in 2016 – the same time Franz Pumaren took over from Mike Fermin as coach of the Falcons.
Manganti struggled with his game as he scored just six points in 1-of-7 shooting from the field, including 0-of-3 from two-point range, with four turnovers in nearly 29 minutes of action.
