FEU’s UAAP Finals return product of ‘trusting the process’

There’s no “prodigal son” narrative around here but George Pascua may just be the chosen one for Far Eastern University.

It’s been 10 years since the Lady Tamaraws lifted the biggest prize in UAAP women’s volleyball history and it was back when a certain Rachel Anne Daquis still played in college.

Now that the Lady Tamaraws are back in the Finals, Pascua is ready to lead the charge bearing the pride of a school he has called home for the past 26 years.

“Of course I’m elated because we’re back and the players have worked terribly hard for this and although it’s been so long since we’ve been to the finals but I trust the process,” said the Filipino-speaking Pascua Wednesday in a chat with Inquirer at FEU.

“We trusted the process wherein we’ve accomplished this and I’m thankful that it has materialized.”

During the decade-long title drought, the Lady Tamaraws have featured in the semifinals five times and they’ve ventured in the Final Four three straight times from Season 77 to 79.

And all those trips ended in early defeats, but Pascua vowed that he would bring an inspiration to his team unlike those before him.

Pascua, who won UAAP titles as a player and as a coach for the Tamaraws, said he wants to repay FEU for the trust it gave him since he donned the green-and-gold jersey in the early 1990s.

“I promised FEU that I won’t coach our competitors in the UAAP, if I will serve one team it will always be FEU,” said Pascua. “FEU was once, and still, my home so I want to return the investment FEU has given me from the start.”

“You can’t just abandon your home, your family. This is my home, this is where I started.”