By Andrei M. Barrantes 

As the securing of spots for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women’s basketball tournament Final Four winds down, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws have exited the race courtesy of a 70-85 loss to the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles earlier today, November 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

FEU took on a streaking blue-and-white squad preserving two straight wins while also seeking to solidify their playoff bid.

The Lady Tams struggled to keep up with AdMU’s twin towers Kacey Dela Rosa and Sarah Makanjuola, who dropped 45 points and 29 rebounds combined. 

With the absence of Lady Tam foreign student-athlete (FSA) Josee Kaputu due to rehabilitation for her ACL surgery last October, the Katipunan-based squad wiped the board with the Tamaraws, controlling the paint with 58 rebounds compared to FEU’s 32.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, green-and-gold guard Shane Salvani spoke on the FSA’s impact on the floor and how desperately they needed it today.

“Malaking kawalan talaga si Josee. It happens for a reason. We have to step up talaga para matulungan ‘yung isa’t isa. ‘Di namin masisisi na sobrang laki ng impact nila kay Kacey. Maybe aaralin pa namin. We tried our best to stop her (Josee truly was a big loss. It happens for a reason. We really have to step up to help each other out. We can’t fault how big Kacey’s impact is on the team. Maybe we have to study them a bit more. We tried our best to stop her),” she said.

FEU tied their season-worst shooting performance from beyond the line with 2/19. They were held to 3/28 by the University of Santo Tomas in the first round.

Salvani took on most of the heavy lifting in the match, attacking the basket and hustling on both ends of the floor. She logged 29 points, seven steals, six assists, six rebounds, and a drastically lessened three turnovers.

EJ Lopez joined Salvani as the only yellow shirts in double digits, scoring 10 points late in the second half. 

With this loss, the Blue Eagles formally pulled away from the bottom-half final four race, securing the fourth and final spot and keeping Tamarawsthe Lady  on the outside looking in for the third straight season.

FEU falls to a 3-9 win-loss record. They will take on the University of the Philippines on November 16 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

(Photo by Krystoffer Zyanel Bermudez/FEU Advocate)