COACH Franz Pumaren can now focus on his mission of turning the fortunes of the Adamson Falcons in the UAAP around.
This developed after the GlobalPort management and Pumaren have reached an agreement that allowed the many-time collegiate champion coach to go on leave so he can concentrate on his task at Adamson.
“It’s our turn to give way to Adamson’s dream of winning their second UAAP championship,” said GlobalPort Governor and AirAsia executive Erick Arejola. “Adamson allowed Franz to handle GlobalPort for a season so this time we will return the favor to them.”
The team is owned by Rep. Mikee Romero (1Pacman).
Though the Batang Pier failed to get past the quarters under Pumaren’s watch, Arejola was still grateful to Pumaren for all the help and sacrifices he has done to the team.
“He did a great job to the team and if not for some heartbreaking losses we could have done better this conference,” added Arejola.
Aside from several near-misses, the nagging knee injury of star player Terrence Romeo and the death of Fil-Am Stanley Pringle’s father in the middle of the ongoing conference that saw him miss two crucial games badly hurt the team’s bid.
Arejola added that Pumaren will be away for only a year.
“It’s just a leave of absence, so he will return to GlobalPort after one year,” said Arejola, who played under Pumaren during La Salle’s mighty run in the UAAP.