Far Eastern University (FEU) team captain LJay Gonzales passionately thanked the green-and-gold crowd for their support after carrying the team past Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles last Wednesday, October 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“Thankful din kami sa mga crowd namin kasi sobrang sarap maglaro na ganu’n kadami ‘yung crowd so happy kami na nakuha namin ‘yung pangatlong [panalo] namin (We are very thankful for the crowd because it feels great to play when you have that large of a crowd so we are very happy to get our third victory),” Gonzales said in a post-game interview.

FEU's crowd attendance has been a long-standing problem in the previous games of the first round.

The removal of the usual three-hour credit for the Wellness and Recreation Program (WRP) was the cause of the lack of in-arena support from the students.

The WRP department was adamant at the start of the semester that no UAAP games will be credited because there were ‘no physical activities involved in watching.’ 

It wasn’t until the sixth match against Adamson University that WRP credits made their return.

While there are no specific records of the number of attendees on the designated side for FEU each game, the free 250 tickets are always sold out every time the WRP department announced the registration link.

Even with a controversial caveat in the guidelines, bringing back the WRP credits significantly boosted the FEU community’s attendance.

FEU alumni have been vocal in the unofficial Facebook Group One Piyu Community about the fabled “sea of gold” that the FEU community consists of during UAAP games in seasons prior. 

With the Morayta cagers at striking distance to reach the final four spot after narrowly missing out in the previous year, support for the green-and-gold squad could be the factor that gets them over the hump.

(Photo by Karch Rafael/FEU Advocate)