FEU’s Gerz Petallo during a victory over UST in UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University may still be looking for consistency but Gerz Petallo believes the team has the resiliency to hold onto after completing an elimination round sweep of old rival University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
When UST threatened to force a fifth set with a 17-11 lead in the fourth, Petallo took charge scoring five points to take a 20-19 advantage en route to a gritty 25-22, 26-24, 17-25, 26-24 victory on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Our resiliency. If we talk about consistency, it’s a bit hard to maintain, but we always bounce back. We have this mindset of bouncing back because there’s always the next day, the next game. We value every game,” said Petallo in Filipino after tallying 12 points and 15 digs. “The grit is there. Even though we go through ups and downs, we need to rise and be better the next day.”
READ: UAAP: FEU repeats over UST in women’s volleyball
Gerz Petallo on asserting their mastery of UST. #UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/Is11exL70G
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“We really wanted to win and we weren’t going to give up that set. If we gave it up, there would be another set, and we’d be in even more danger,” she added.
Following a frustrating straight-set loss to La Salle last week, FEU started the second round, tying UST with a 5-3 mark. The Lady Tamaraws swept the Golden Tigresses in the eliminations for the first time since Season 80 in 2018.
Despite FEU winning over UST on opening day a month ago, Petallo focused on the Tigresses’ adjustments after they won five straight games since their first-round clash.
READ: UAAP: FEU sheds dark horse mentality as it plays like a contender
“Every game is different, and this one is a different story. If we just focus on the first round, the first game with UST, it’s a different story in the second round. There are adjustments, and their last games showed some improvements. It really comes down to effort and adjusting to the games,” she said.
After a shaky first round, FEU will continue to embrace its contender status as it eyes a better Round 2. The Lady Tams take on winless University of the East next on Wednesday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
“We stand by what I said about being contenders because the team has improved so much compared to before. We’ll continue to stand by the effort we’ve put in, and then it’s on to the next game. We move forward,” Petallo said.