Pascua tells Lady Tamaraws: Don’t let this chance get away

Far Eastern University’s mantra for the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament was to get a twice-to-beat advantage en route to a potential 30th title.

The Lady Tamaraws have said several times throughout the second round that they want to get to the Final Four as either the first or second seed.

Although the Lady Tamaraws waited until the final game of the eliminations, Ateneo’s loss to De La Salle meant that FEU had sole possession of the second seed, but head coach George Pascua and company did not mind waiting for that long.

FEU finished the eliminations with a 10-4 record while the Lady Eagles, the team the Lady Tamaraws will face in the semifinals, settled for a 9-5 card.

And with the added perk of needing just one game to dispose of Ateneo, Pascua warned his team to not take things lightly and immediately go for the jugular to prevent any potential mishaps.

“I told my players that even though we have the twice-to-beat advantage, they should never think that we have that perk,” said Pascua in Filipino during their last training before the Final Four match.

“Every game should be a championship game for us, and this is a matchup of character. This is the semifinals, everybody already knows how everyone plays, so this will be a test of character for both teams.”

Pascua added his team has the distinct advantage in terms of momentum after ending the eliminations on a four-game winning streak while the Lady Eagles got dropped on their last two games.

The Lady Tamaraws’ chief said his team should never make the mistake of letting go of the chance they were put into and not let Ateneo get any semblance of confidence in their Final Four matchup.

“I told my players to not let go of this opportunity that was given to us because Ateneo is not that strong compared to its previous teams before,” said Pascua of the Lady Eagles, who had a string of six years wherein they won at least 10 games.