By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

After sweeping their respective opponents in the semifinals, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws and Lady Tamaraws promised to give their all as they prepare to compete in the 2024 V-League Collegiate Challenge finals to be held on Sunday, September 29, at the Paco Arena in Manila City. 

“Confident na confident po [kami], pero before namin makuha ‘yung crown, hindi magiging biro ‘yung pagdaraanan namin. Pero, we’ll do our best para mangyari ‘yun (We’re really confident, but before we obtain the crown, the path to it is no joke. But, we’ll do our best for that to happen),” Lady Tam Jean Asis said in an interview with FEU Advocate.

The Morayta-based volleybelles completed the eliminations with a 3-3 win-loss card, losing out on the two-seed after falling against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in a 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-22, 10-25 thriller last September 8.

Despite getting a triple tie with De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (CSB) and University of the Philippines, FEU notched the third spot in the standings which set up a rematch against UE in the best-of-three semifinals.

In their matches last September 18 and 22, the green-and-gold squad bounced back completely against the red-and-white volleybelles, defeating them in straight sets twice to secure themselves a finals spot.

Returning to the championship match after losing to CSB last year, Asis vowed that the team will work hard now that they are given another chance to bag the gold.

“[It’s] overwhelming po since we’re able to get back to the finals, and it’s a big chance po to achieve ‘yung championship. We’ll work hard po to really make it happen,” the middle blocker stated.

Meanwhile, Tamaraw outside hitter Jelord Talisayan also emphasized their plan to give their all to be proclaimed as champions while not being overly confident. 

“Hindi naman [kami overconfident], saktong confidence lang na kaya naming mag-perform na pam-finals ‘tsaka pipilitin naming makuha ‘yung crown para kami naman [‘yung champions] (We’re not overconfident, just enough to know that we can perform at the finals level and we will really do our best to get the crown so that we are the champions this time),” he said.

The men’s team had a more impressive performance during the eliminations, capping it off with a straight-set victory against the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals.

Facing the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 volleyball champions National University in their semifinal matchup last September 8, FEU fought hard in game one with a 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 25-16 win.

Ultimately, the Tamaraws showed their hand as they eliminated the Bulldogs completely off their V-League campaign in game two, 25-13, 25-20, 25-21.

As they also move on to the finals, Talisayan mentioned the team’s joy for the fruits of their hard work, but highlighted their main goal of becoming champions.

“Sobrang saya ng lahat kasi lahat ng pinagpaguran at ginawa namin this summer, nagpe-pay off. Hindi lang makapasok sa finals ‘yung goal namin, eh. Gusto namin[g] makuha ‘yung goal namin na mag-champion (Everyone’s very happy because all our hard work and preparation this summer is paying off. Our goal is not just to get to the finals. We want to reach our goal of being proclaimed champions),” he shared.

The green-and-gold volleybelles will be facing University of Santo Tomas (UST) for the V-League 2024 crown, while the Tams shall compete against the winner of the semifinal match between UST and De La Salle University to be held tomorrow.

The championship showdowns will be held at the Paco Arena in Manila City and can also be watched live on the official V-League Facebook page.

(Photos courtesy of the V-League)