University of Santo Tomas’ chances of making the Final Four are as bleak as getting back-to-back royal flushes, but head coach Kung Fu Reyes just wants his players to give it all they’ve got at this point.
The Golden Tigresses’ loss to Far Eastern University on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament pushed them to a league-worst 2-7 record and on the brink of elimination from the Final Four.
But more than making their final push for the next round, giving the school a something to be proud is something Reyes wants the Tigresses to strive for.
“We just have to hold on and fight for the pride of the school,” said Reyes in Filipino at Filoil Flying V Centre. “We will fight to get out of this ranking and we don’t want to be called as a bottom-feeding team.”
“It’s hard but we have to concentrate on our other games, finish with a graceful exit.”
UST’s performance against the Lady Tamaraws were everything but graceful.
FEU toyed with the Golden Tigresses defense and unloaded 19 service aces, a mark that Reyes did not enjoy one bit.
“They had 19 aces? That’s a lot,” said Reye, whose team managed to score seven on their side of the floor. “How can you win when you give up 19 aces?”
Reyes said he can see the eagerness to win from his team, but the moment the nerves kick in his players crumble in one way or another.
And when that happens, the errors start to rack up on UST’s side of the stat sheet.
In the third set, FEU scored 10 points off of its attacks but enjoyed 10 free points due to UST’s errors.
“You can see the eagerness to win, they won’t give up so easily,” said Reyes. “But when we commit an error it goes on and on, that’s our problem.”
Reyes added the five games remaining in their schedule will be their final gamble, put everything on the line and reap in whatever reward that comes their way.
“There are still five games left where we can fix everything. We will have sessions that we will have to improve the team’s morale,” said Reyes. “They have to accept that there are aspects that they have to fill up. They’re not the only ones losing out there, us coaches are included, even UST is in it.”