From outside the edge of the Final Four circle, Far Eastern U skipper Remy Palma made an emotional appeal to her teammates.
“I don’t want my last playing year to end like this,” she said. “This is my last chance, so if we have to go through the eye of a needle we’ll go through the eye of a needle. It’s really all or nothing for us.”
Whether that sense of urgency translates into an inspired performance against National U will be known Saturday when FEU takes a final shot at making the semifinals of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
The Lady Tamaraws square off against NU at 4 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena, with Palma hoping her desperation rubs off on her teammates, who sit behind a trio of teams in the race for the last two semifinal slots.
“I told them ‘guys, we shouldn’t give up hope because our season’s not yet over, we still have games left and let’s focus on those. Help me. Let’s do this for our coaches, for the school,’” said Palma.
FEU totes a 6-6 card with NU, UP and UST sharing 7-5 records. Defending champion La Salle and Ateneo are tied at 10-2 and have copped the first two semifinal slots. La Salle battles Adamson at 2 p.m., and is expected to use that game as a tuneup for its April 8 showdown against Ateneo for the No. 1 spot.
The Lady Tamaraws will be facing an upill battle against the Lady Bulldogs, who will be led by MVP favorite Jaja Santiago.