MANILA, Philippines—Expect Far Eastern University rookie Lycha Ebon to sit out the entire Final Four.
Ebon was in full gear in the Lady Tamaraws’ clutch 10-25, 25-23, 25-22, 12-25, 15-8 win over top seed Ateneo in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball Final Four, but she won’t be taking the floor any time soon even if she wanted to.
Head coach George Pascua decided that wouldn’t risk his injured star even if the Lady Tamaraws’ next game could push them to the championship round.
“Lycha told me she wanted to play but I won’t gamble it,” said Pascua in Filipino Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena. “Her Ates are already there and I told her to trust her Ates, but she really wanted to play.”
Ebon finished her rookie season with a total of 115 points before she injured her left knee on March 24 in FEU’s game against Adamson University at the start of the second round.
“My decision is not to play anymore,” said Ebon in Filipino. “It’d be hard for me if I still risked playing especially I’m only in my first year.”
Ebon added that her suiting up, warming up with the team, and even sitting at FEU’s bench during the game was a message to her teammates that she’d be there supporting them.
“I don’t want them to feel that they’re incomplete,” said Ebon. “We’re a team, we should always be complete and united. I’m also really proud of my Ates because they’re really showing that we need to win and that we should get our goal.”