By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws dropped both of their matches, 9-10 and 15-21, on day 3 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women’s 3x3 basketball tournament earlier today, May 1, at Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City.

The green-and-gold cagebelles struggled to score to begin their match against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers, only getting their first point after two minutes off a Shane Salvani two-point shot.

FEU’s scoring woes continued on until 2-6, wherein Salvani and Yvette Villanueva’s shooting spearheaded a 7-1 run to take the driver’s seat.

However, the Lady Tamaraws' last two minutes mirrored their first two, going on another scoring drought which was enough for the win to slip off their hands, 9-10.

Salvani accounted for more than half the team’s points with five, while Villanueva had three of her own.

In their following bout against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses, the Morayta squad struggled yet again to get into an offensive groove, with Salvani being the first to score once more, 1-4.

FEU’s size disadvantage became a clear weakness exploited by UST, giving up offensive rebounds and failing to put up much resistance at the post.

With the deficit ballooning to 8-17, Salvani showed some light as she knocked down three consecutive shots from downtown to cut the lead at 14-18. Still, their lack of inside presence was too much of a deterrent as the Tigresses easily closed out the match.

Despite the loss, Salvani led both teams in points, being the only one in double digits with 10.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Lady Tamaraw Max de la Torre highlighted their lack of energy as the main reason for their losses.

“Siguro, naging [relaxed] kami kaya ‘yung energy namin sa court, sobrang baba talaga, pero ayun nga, sa second game namin, tinry namin na mas taasan ‘yung energy para next game, madala namin (I guess we became relaxed which is why our oncourt energy was very low, but in our second game, we tried to increase our energy to be able to bring that onto the next game),” she said.

The Morayta cagebelle also mentioned their adjusted focus on their next games with a game plan and emphasis on enjoyment.

“Mag-focus na lang kami sa mga next game namin. Gagawa kami ng game plan ta’s i-enjoy lang namin (We will just focus on our next games. We will make a game plan then enjoy),” de la Torre added.

The Lady Tamaraws will aim to break their slump by overcoming National University tomorrow, May 2, at the same venue.

(Photo courtesy of the UAAP Media Team)