By Leiniel A. Santos

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw Shane Salvani’s 21-point performance fell short as they lost against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 61-76, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women’s basketball tournament earlier today, November 16, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Salvani mentioned that they suffered a lot of challenges, including many injuries within the team.

“Sa'kin, kulang pa talaga, more improvement pa sa susunod [na] season. Madaming challenges na nangyari kasi kulang kami. Halos lahat nagka-injury, pero babawi kami next season. (It's still not enough for me, we need more improvement next season. Many challenges happened because we were lacking. Almost everyone got injured, but we will recover next season),” she said.

The Lady Tamaraws got the first ball possession but struggled to score, missing three consecutive shots which gave the Fighting Maroons an opening advantage.

With UP’s early nine-point lead, Lady Tams head coach Raiza Palmera-Dy called a timeout. FEU then managed to cut the lead to four at the end of the first quarter, 14-18.

During the second frame, the Diliman-based squad continued to dominate as they executed a huge 20-point lead.

Still, the green-and-gold squad kept on trying to force a momentum swing but only managed to bring down UP’s lead to 12, 29-41.

In the third quarter, the Fighting Maroons still seized control as they kept their double-digit lead, 45-61.

Unfortunately, the Morayta cagebelles failed to storm back despite outscoring UP in the final quarter at 16-15. 

Salvani added that they need to lessen their turnovers in order for them to end the season strong in their next match.

“Turnovers talaga, ‘yun talaga ‘yung kailangan namin ma-improve… We have to crash and take care of the ball (Turnover really, that's really what we need to improve... We have to crash and take care of the ball),” she stated.

Maxene Dela Torre also scored a double-digit with 12 points and four rebounds, while UP’s leading scorer was Louna Ozar with 14 markers.

The Lady Tams now stand with a 3-10 win-loss record and will try to end their Season 87 journey strong against National University next Saturday,  November 23, at the same venue. 

(Photo by Aleena Louise Abad/FEU Advocate)