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MANILA, Philippines – With a new system, a new head coach, and much-improved players, the Adamson University Soaring Falcons are tipped to be dark horse contenders for the UAAP Season 79 men's basketball tournament.

Season 78 record: 3-11

Season 78 summary: The Adamson Soaring Falcons were the heartbreak kids of the UAAP Season 78 tournament, suffering several closes losses, including a heartbreaking 60-64 setback against the eventual champions Far Eastern University Tamaraws, and a 79-85 overtime loss to then-defending champion National University.

They finally broke through in their 11th game, when they stunned De La Salle University, 75-74, clawing back from a 16-point deficit and relying on import Papi Sarr's two charities in the final 15 seconds to secure the victory.

Though they failed to make the Final Four, the Falcons clearly had a promising team with Sarr and JD Tungcab leading the way.

Key losses: Joseph Nalos, Coach Mike Fermin

Key additions: Jerrick Ahanmisi, Robbie Manalang, Terrence Mustre, Coach Franz Pumaren

Key returnees: Papi Sarr, JD Tungcab, Dawn Ochea

(READ: Franz says win against manong Derrick just ‘an appetizer’)

Projection: Adamson will find itself in an unfamiliar position entering the Season 79 tournament, as they are being looked upon as a potential Final Four contender.

The Soaring Falcons will have a multi-titled coach in Franz Pumaren calling the shots, and will use his tried-and-tested full-court press as the backbone of their system. They showed flashes of potential during the FilOil preseason tournament, but the extra two months of preparation should have gone a long way towards helping them polish their system.

For all the expectations, however, the Falcons are still a young team, and they have lost their unquestioned leader in Joseph Nalos. The Adamson players will need to grow up and mature quickly if they want to give Pumaren a winning welcome in the UAAP.

What they said: "This season, we're gonna play as a team first. I don't want to say anything about the goal or whatever, but we're gonna play every game as a Final. We'll see what will happen, but don't mind what you saw in the FilOil – that's FilOil. Now it's UAAP, and things will change." – Papi Sarr

First game: University of the Philippines, September 4, at the Araneta Coliseum.

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