Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Far Eastern University is slowly moving on into a new era without the talismanic Bernadeth Pons and the Lady Tamaraws have found their platform in the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference.
The offseason tournament has become some sort of testing ground for the teams before the start of the UAAP season and the Lady Tamaraws have used that opportunity to work on their system.
No one player has stood out as its undisputed leader for FEU, just what Pons has done in the past, but the team saw several players don the leader’s cap almost every game.
Celine Domingo had that distinction in FEU’s previous five-set win when she had 18 points over University of Perpetual Help and this time, it was Heather Guino-o’s turn to become the team’s motivator.
Guino-o put up 13 points in the Lady Tamaraws’ win over fellow UAAP team University of the Philippines, 15-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-23, 15-7, Saturday at Filoil Flying V Centre.
“I want to help my teammates display their true worth because I know that they’re capable of playing better than what they are doing now,” said Guino-o in Filipino. “They can perform better if they wanted to but if I want to see better performances from them, I should play better myself.”
“If I want to motivate them, I will first start with myself.”
Guino-o stepped up big time after only averaging just 6.4 points in the first five games of the conference.
The outside hitter said the team is still adjusting to a life without Pons, but all they can do in the moment is to develop their identity as a team.
“We still lack the communication needed and of course we still don’t have that leader figure inside the court,” said Guino-o as her team improved to a 5-1 record and locked up a slot in the semifinals.