UAAP: Tagaod, Bakanke lead FEU charge back to winning ways
FEU Lady Tamaraws’ Chen Tagaod.–UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Chenie Tagaod and Faida Bakanke came out firing for Far Eastern University to end their two-game skid and solidify their Final Four chances in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.
Absorbing two consecutive losses from unbeaten University of Santo Tomas and second seed National University, Tagaod didn’t allow Adamson to pile up their woes as she conspired with Bakanke and Gerz Petallo for a much-needed 25-13, 25-22, 25-17 win on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Our five-set loss to UST hurt us so much followed by another defeat to NU. So our mindset was to bounce back in this game,” said Tagaod in Filipino. “We beat them (Adamson) in the preseason in the Shakey’s Super League so we made sure not to let them beat us here in the UAAP.”
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball first round
“We were able to execute what we did in practice. That’s why we played well and earned this good result.”
Tagaod, one of the FEU seniors, was urged by her coaches to lead by example to her younger teammates, that led to her 12-point performance.
Faida Bakanke.–UAAP PHOTO
FEU rookie Bakanke followed the lead of Tagaod as she unleashed her best UAAP game yet with 14 points on 13-of-23 attack rate.
“I’m very happy. My performance is much better now than before because the coaches are adjusting for me and telling me [how to adjust to] the system,” said the Congolese rookie, who also had eight digs.
“We [must also] have determination because we lost two games. We said we’ll come back strong in this game and we did well,” she added.
READ: UST rallies past FEU to stay unbeaten in UAAP women’s volleyball
FEU rose to No. 4 with a 3-3 record behind unbeaten leader UST (5-0) and La Salle and NU, who are tied at 4-1.
Lady Tamaraws coach Manolo Refugia wants his wards to finish the round strong against the Ateneo Blue Eagles next week.
As they approach the second round, the youthful tactician is optimistic that the Lady Tamaraws are hungrier to surpass their fifth-place finish last season to end a four-year Final Four drought.
“They are more determined to exceed what we finished last year. We’re all eager to prove ourselves this season,” he said in Filipino.
