Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws split their matches against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons and the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles on the opening day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 3x3 basketball tournament elimination round, May 2, at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay Activity Center in Parañaque City.

The green-and-gold cagebelles faced an uphill battle against UP, struggling to take control and trailing midway through the game, 11-14.

Fortunately, the Lady Tamaraws were able to build up a run with easier baskets and solid defense to tie the match at 16-all.

However, their offense went stagnant near the end, going on a scoring drought to receive their first loss, 16-21.

In their second match of the day, the Lady Tamaraws kept the game close without faltering against the physicality of the Blue Eagles.

While they were giving up rebounds which caused extra possessions for the Katipunan-based squad, the Morayta-based squad kept up by methodically executing their plays to grant themselves open shots.

With the physicality rising even more at 10-12, FEU's Maxene Dela Torre began imposing her dominance inside, driving to the rim and forcing AdMU to be in the penalty when the scoreboard read 13-15.

This fueled Dela Torre's takeover even more as she scored six of her 12 points, ultimately leading to an 8-0 run for the Lady Tams toward their first victory, 21-15.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Dela Torre expressed the need for someone to step up as the reason for her performance.

"Kailangan ko lang talaga mag-step up kasi kung walang magse-step up, wala kaming win (I just needed to step up because if no one's going to do it, we would have no win)," she said.

Team captain Mary Julienne Manguiat then highlighted their Tamaraw spirit as their driving force to get a win despite their initial loss against UP.

"Syempre, Tamaraws kami, kailangan pa rin namin mag-uwi kahit isang panalo (Of course, we're Tamaraws so we need to take home even just one win)," she stated.

Along with their 1-1 win-loss record, the green-and-gold squad take a total of 37 points for the day and will try to add more to the win column as they face De La Salle University and National University tomorrow, May 3, at the same venue.

-Vince Matthew Jaramilla

(Photo courtesy of The UAAP)