By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws head coach Manolo Refugia emphasized patience after they dominated the Lyceum of the Philippines University Lady Pirates, 25-15, 25-13, 25-12, in the 2024 Shakey's Super League National Invitationals earlier today, July 12, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila City.

"[Championship] naman 'yung goal namin pero naka-focus kami, one game at a time, one day at a time, pero hindi mawawala 'yung objective. Malayo pa, kailangan pang trabahuhin (Our goal is the championship but we're focused on one game at a time, one day at a time, but the objective will not be lost. It's still far, we still need to work on it)," he said in a post-game interview with FEU Advocate.

Open hitter Lovely Lopez kicked the game off hot with six early attacks to take a 16-9 lead in the first set.

After the second technical timeout, shared offense came out of the green-and-gold squad to total 16 attacks and claim the frame, 25-15.

In the second set, a 0-3 start did not faze FEU as they then went on to have a 15-1 run.

The Lady Tams cruised through the rest of the set with their massive lead despite the Lady Pirates' attempts to come back, going up 2-0 in the match.

Moving on, FEU was unable to capitalize on their momentum as the third frame started 12-10.

Fortunately, the Morayta squad were able to flip the switch and assert their dominance once again with a 13-2 run, ultimately taking the victory.

The win completes the volleybelles' sweep of Pool C of the eliminations to claim the one-seed.

With the current performance of the rookies and players that are not from the main lineup, Coach Manolo mentioned improving chemistry as their main objective in the competition.

"Maganda naman 'yung pine-perform nila. Talagang naiintindihan nila kung ano 'yung sistema. Although short 'yung preparation namin, number one priority namin is 'yung chemistry, 'yung relationship namin sa bawat isa para mas maging madali 'yung adjustments (Their performance is good. They really understand what the system is. Although our preparation was short, our number one priority is our chemistry, our relationship with each other to make the adjustments easier)," he stated.

Lopez led the scoring with 10 points, followed by Jean Asis with eight markers.

The Refugia-led squad awaits to face the two-seed of Pool B in the quarterfinals tomorrow, July 13, at the same venue.

(Photo by Raph Bautista/FEU Advocate)