Brothers Racela Nash (left) of Adamson and Olsen (right) of the FEU. UAAP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University coach Olsen Racela had mixed emotions after RJ Abarrientos nailed three goals against brothers Nash and Adamson in their first match of the tournament. UAAP Season 84 men’s basket.
While the Tamaraws’ were celebrating Abarrientos’ clutch jerk with 8.9 seconds left as they exited the Falcons with a thrilling 66-65 victory On Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena, Olsen walked straight ahead and shook hands with the opposing team, coached by his brother.
The FEU coach was happy to get his first win of the season with an improved 3-3 record but it was tough for him as Adamson had to accept another loss in a close game, when to lost 1-5.
“For me there are mixed emotions. I was happy with the win but when the final whistle blew and we were going to the other side, I saw my brother, I had mixed emotions,” said eldest sister Racela. “But one team has to win and one team has to lose. That’s how it works.”
While it’s another heartbreaking loss, Nash is happy that Adamson and the FEU played “one of the best games to date this season.”
FEU Tamaraws celebrates RJ Abarrientos .’s game 3 win
‘FEELING’
The former FEU coach, who is currently calling footage for the refurbished Falcons, continues to credit their rebuilding after Jerom Lastimosa nailed a trio with 20 seconds left for a 65-63 lead only to miss another potential game winner in their final possession, failing to meet the Abarryentos move.
“It can go one of two ways,” Nash said. “Honestly, we (I and Olsen) don’t know each other’s coaching strategies. We had a bit of an idea of what each other was going to do but today I think we were both surprised by the way the other trained.”
The younger Racela added to the fight between their siblings bringing out only the best of each other.
“From the very beginning, you always said when you met. It will only bring out the best for both of you. I think we made it today,” he said.
Olsen was relieved that his teams stuck with his game plan even knowing that Nash was familiar with the FEU’s system, which the latter coached from 2012 to 2016 before before as a consultant in 2018 to 2019.
“If you stick with what works for you, even the opposition knows what you’re doing, keep doing it as long as it works. It’s the same with coach Nash,” Olsen said. “When they were eight, I wanted to commend the players for not giving up. We could have given up easily but they showed us the true spirit that the FEU was looking for. ”
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