Far Eastern University’s 3-2 record is still a respectable mark in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament as it puts the Tamaraws in the third spot, tied with De La Salle, in the standings.
But what doesn’t add up, though, is that their wins have always followed a loss—the latest, an embarrassing 25-point drubbing at the hands the botton-dweller University of the East.
With that rude awakening, FEU corrected its mistakes and took it out on National University for the 73-68 win Wednesday.
READ: UAAP: UE dismantles FEU for first win of the season
“That wasn’t the real us who played against UE,” said guard-forward Wendell Comboy in Filipino after the bounce back victory. “We weren’t ourselves back then so in behalf of the whole team I would like to apologize.”
“We won’t give up every game and you can expect that from us,” added Comboy, who led the Tamaraws with 18 points while being their defensive anchor, forcing NU’s Dave Ildefonso who struggled for 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Rookie Louell Gonzales, the 2016 UAAP Juniors’ MVP, said the 25-point setback had a big impact on the team, which is struggling with consistency.
READ: UAAP: FEU back on track, holds off NU to get share of third spot
“I think the loss served as a lesson,” said Gonzales, who had nine points, in Filipino. “We had two days to prepare against NU so we pushed ourselves in training and I think that led to the good result today.”
FEU head coach Olsen Racela is yearning for consistency from his team, especially that the Tamaraws have not won back-to-back this season, and he knows it starts with preparation.
“It starts in the practices, we didn’t have good practices prior to our two losses,” said Racela. “So this week we had a good practice but I’m not saying that if you have a good practice you will automatically win.”
“Us coaches have to prepare the players better not just physically but also prepare their mindset. We need to follow up this win with a good game,” added Racela.