By Krizza Gabrielle Tabora

With their Final Four hopes now uncertain, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws suffered a straight-set loss to the Adamson University Lady Falcons, 20-25, 22-25, 23-25, earlier today, April 18, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila City.

During the opening set, the green-and-gold squad failed to gain an early advantage against the Lady Falcons despite multiple offensive attempts, 20-25.

In the second frame, Alyzza Devosora tried to tighten the gap with two back-to-back attack points, 21-19.

However, the Morayta-based squad failed to secure the second frame as Frances Mordi and Shaina Nitura closed the set with several service aces, 22-25.

As they aimed for a reverse sweep, FEU team captain Gerzel Petallo took charge of the team’s scoring to force Adamson to a thrilling match, forcing only a one-point deficit, 13-12.

Despite catching up to the San Marcelino-based squad’s five-point advantage, the Morayta-based team still failed to gain the lead as Adamson eventually closed the match with a quick attack, 23-25.

Petallo finished as the team’s lone double-digit scorer with 11 points from 10 spikes and one ace, while Devosora contributed nine markers built on seven attacks, one block, and one ace.

In an interview with FEU Advocate, Petallo reflected on the team’s errors which led to them losing confidence during the match.

“Ginawa pa rin namin [‘yung] best namin, but ayun nga, we fell short talaga.Naunahan kami ng error, kasi ‘pag pipigilan mo kasi ‘yung galaw mo, mas magkaka-error ka… Siguro, ayun, nawalan kami [ng] kumpiyansa all throughout. But ayun humahabol pa rin kami, nagtitiwala kami na kahit natatambakan kami ng lima, naabutan pa rin (We still gave it our best, but we fell short. We let errors get the best of us because when you try to hold back your movements, you actually end up making more errors. I guess we lost our confidence throughout the match, but we kept fighting and trusted that even when we were down by five, we were able to catch up; we just came up short in the end),” the team captain stated.

Now with a 7-6 win-loss card, the Lady Tamaraws are determined to improve their chances at a Final Four berth as they conclude their elimination round campaign against Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday, April 22, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

(Photo by Shane Claudine Rodulfo/FEU Advocate)