FEU Tamaraws relish V-League experience ahead of Spikers’ Turf

FEU Tamaraws’ Dryx Saavedra celebrating his teammates after winning the V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge title. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — After capturing their first-ever V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge crown, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws remain hungry for more in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference starting this October.

FEU finally captured a V-League title after dethroning La Salle in Finals Game 3, 25-22, 28-26, 25-18, on Friday evening at Philsports Arena.

But Dryx Saavedra, who emerged as the Finals MVP and Best Opposite Spiker, is not satisfied with their successful preseason campaign as he is determined to keep growing with the Tamaraws, who will face nine teams in the men’s club league including Cignal, Criss Cross, and Collegiate runner-up La Salle. 

READ: FEU dethrones La Salle to clinch V-League men’s crown

“This is part of our journey. We’ll go from the V-League and then try to qualify for the Spikers’ Turf. Our coaches, Jude Garcia and Cris Silang, will be our opponents there. We know we still need to improve to keep up with them,” said Saavedra, referring to Criss Cross’ Open Conference Jude Garcia and fellow FEU assistant coach Cris Silang.

Now that they earned their goal of winning the V-League and qualifying for the Spikers’ Turf, Saavedra is eager to prove himself by leading his team’s redemption campaign in next year’s UAAP after No.1 seed in Season 86 but blew a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four against the University of Santo Tomas. 

“Honestly, I always say I don’t care about individual awards because I know I still have a lot to improve,” he said. “I always think about the awards I’ve received, but I really need to work on developing myself.”

FEU Tamaraws during the V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge final. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

FEU skipper Jelord Talisayan is also dreaming big of winning another championship in the Spikers’ Turf and capturing the elusive UAAP crown. 

But to make it happen, Talisayan wants a stronger relationship with his teammates and coaches. 

READ: V-League: La Salle fights back vs FEU, forces title decider

“I’m really excited for our team because the Spikers’ Turf is no joke; there are always a lot of strong teams there. We’ll gain lessons that we can apply to the UAAP, so we always pray and believe that nothing is impossible. I want us to win three championships this year,” Talisayan said.

“Our relationship is something I have the authority to build. The adjustment is a bit hard, but our passion is strong; we’re not just teammates. We’ll always be here for each other, even as we grow older.”

FEU coach Eddieson Orcullo said they won’t stop working, hoping to learn from the top club teams and prove that they already learned from their series meltdown in last season’s UAAP.

“Mindset is really important. Sometimes you overthink situations that haven’t even happened, and then they don’t happen at all. In our case, people said we wouldn’t hold on until the end, but now we’ve seen the results. Maybe we’ve learned from it, and that’s what matters—how we learn,” Orcullo said.