FEU Lady Tamaraws.
Far Eastern University experienced a couple of big uncertainties in its two games against Ateneo in the elimination stages of the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament.
Both games ended in fifth sets, and the Lady Tamaraws were left to ponder what could’ve have happened if they closed the game better.
FEU’s losses against Ateneo were the results of a failed comeback with the Lady Eagles prevailing 25-19, 24-26, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11, in the first round, and 25-20, 25-22, 17-15, 21-25, 15-8 in the next.
“We’ll be depending on our elimination games against Ateneo once we face them in the Final Four,” said FEU head coach Shaq Delos Santos Thursday after the team’s practice. “We’ll study what went wrong, our lapses, because once we reach the fifth set that’s where we experience a slip in our performance.”
The Lady Tamaraws finished with a fourth-best record of 8-6 but staring at them at the other side are the Lady Eagles who own the league-best 12-2 card.
Delos Santos said their losses in the elimination rounds, especially against the Lady Eagles, will not only serve as motivation to do better, but as lessons to improve their performance come the semifinals.
“We’ve entered the Final Four and whatever we failed to do in the eliminations, the semifinals is the time for us to do it,” said Delos Santos. “This is a challenge for us, and I don’t necessarily put a pressure on the team because they might feel the burden.”