Racela, Tamaraws look to build on big wins

Luck is sometimes a circumstance born out of an environment one creates through hard work. Olsen Racela and the Far Eastern U Tamaraws gritted their way to huge upset wins over Adamson and Ateneo in the last week in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

And out of the scenario in the standings those wins created, the Tamaraws found themselves on top of the field without having to break a sweat, the result of a La Salle victory over Adamson Saturday night that created a logjam at the top.

But Racela is far from satisfied with the way things have panned out.

“It doesn’t matter who you beat or where you are at the end of the first round,” Racela said. “What matters is where you are at the end of the tournament. We still have a long way to go and we still need to improve.”

The Tamaraws take their 5-2 record to court against first-round tormentor University of Santo Tomas on Sunday, the lessons of that defeat and a loss to lowly University of the East still on top of their minds.

“We’re still looking for consistency,” said Racela, even as FEU is slowly finding its own stable of unlikely heroes in the likes of two-way guard Wendell Comboy and off-the-bench sparkplug Hubert Cani.

“Wendell has really started to take on a lot more responsibility starting with our win over NU,” Racela revealed. “He asked for a bigger role defensively and that’s the kind of attitude you want from your players.”

The Tamaraws will carry a three-game run into the game against the Tigers, who are on a two-game streak.