Ex-Adamson player Sean Manganti reveals rift with Franz Pumaren

Former Adamson Soaring Falcons team captain Sean Manganti said that he and his UAAP coach Franz Pumaren are no longer seeing eye to eye.

In an interview on Tip-OFF with Nico Waje and Christian Atienza, Manganti said that his relationship with Pumaren soured after his lackluster performance in Game 1 of their semifinals series against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.

The Season 81 Most Improved Player said he was devastated after failing to steer the Falcons to the UAAP Finals. He said he “mourned” by himself and did not speak to anyone for a week, but he sent a message to Pumaren.

“I hit him with a huge super long text expressing my gratitude and my thankfulness for everything he’s done for me. And I unloaded my heart onto a text, and I got nothing back,” Manganti said.

The 6-foot-5 wingman, who now plays for Che’Lu Revellers in the PBA D-League, said has not spoken to Pumaren or the other coaches since his final UAAP game in November.

“I’ve been to Adamson a couple of times and we’ve walked past each other like we’ve never met in our lives. No eye contact, no nothing,” he said.

When pressed on why his former coach suddenly turned cold on him, Manganti could only offer up speculations.

“I’m sure he thinks something of me that will never be true,” he said.

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Pumaren said he does not have a beef with his former player and said Manganti may have misinterpreted the lack of communication between them.

“Marami rin akong text messages na hindi nire-reply-an. I have other things to do, I have other jobs,” he said. “There are times na hindi mo nasasagot when you're pre-occupied.”

The multi-titled coach said he returned to Adamson on January 16 after the team took a break at the end of the season and he has not seen Manganti since then.

Manganti said he wants to clear the air with Pumaren, a man he considers to be one of the biggest influences in his basketball career.

“It’s all love, I would love to talk to him. I would love to talk to him one on one. I would love to talk about it,” he said.

Pumaren, meanwhile, said he does not have anything to clarify with his former player.

“What's there to clarify? Wala kaming problema. We're not dealing with 12-year-old, 14-year-old kid here,” Pumaren said. “I'm a very busy individual, he should know that.”

Manganti said he had a good relationship with his mentor during his UAAP career.

“In my eyes, I believe we had one of the strongest relationships between friends and Adamson players. That’s why it hurt even more to realize that he’s not in my corner anymore,” he said. —with a report from Marisse Panaligan