By Yuichi Desquitado

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws and Lady Tamaraws resumed their contention for the finals in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 beach volleyball tournaments yesterday, November 23, at the Sands SM by the Bay in Pasay City.

The men’s team achieved a playoff berth while the women’s narrowed their chances to land their own spot after a defeat from the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons.

In an interview with FEU Advocate, Lady Tams rookie Lovely Lopez cited ‘underdeveloped coordination’ with fellow players as the reason for their loss against the Lady Falcons.

“Dapat bawat galaw, binabasa talaga. Kailangan mo talagang tulungan ‘yung partner mo sa lahat ng bagay, mapa-serve, mapa-pattern—kung paano siya magiging confident sa sarili niya (You should read every move. You need to assist your partner in everything—serving, pattern, and even in boosting their self-confidence),” she said.

FEU started the game hot as they slammed down the De La Salle University Green Spikers twice in a row, 21-10, 21-10. 

The Amet Bituin-Reynan Postorioso duo proved unstoppable as they also beat the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 21-17, 21-18, earning them a 4-2 standing.

This score improvement entitled them a spot in the finals alongside the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Sands and National University (NU) Bulldogs. 

In the women’s division, Lady Tamaraws Melody Pons and Lopez started their game day right as they were able to swiftly chop down Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles, 21-15, 21-9.

In the afternoon, the opposing teams started the match in a steady-state as FEU and AdU collided in several deadlocks along the match, until Adamson expanded its lead to four then finally sealing the set in their favor.

Starting the second set, the Morayta pair seemed determined to kick back from the last set, serving the San Marcelino duo a 4-1 run, which was quickly redeemed by a 7-2 run of their own, 6-8.

AdU maintained their lead, having their biggest difference at 12-16 and 15-19, while keeping at least two over the set. Despite the enemy advantage, the Lady Tams remained steadfast in reclaiming the lead, panicking the Lady Falcons to take a breather. 

After the timeout, FEU remained clamped from turning the game around, as Adamson finalized the game after three rallies, 17-21. This had also placed the Lady Tamaraws in a 3-3 win-loss standing ahead of the final games.

Similar to the men's division, AdU is set to join UST and NU in the finals, while contention for the final spot will be battled over by UP and AdMU.

Outside hitter Lopez recounted the unusual match schedule as a factor, which affected their performance during the game against AdU.

“Kulang lang sa preparation kasi first time din namin maglaro sa gabi. Parang na[hinto], lalo na pagod ‘yung katawan, kasi tagal din ng next game namin kasi 10 a.m. ‘yung first game. Siguro, nag-cooldown ‘yung body namin (We lacked preparations because it is our first time playing at night. Our body experienced fatigue especially after the rest from our 10 a.m. game. Our body must have cooled down then),” the Lady Tam shared. 

Anticipating their final match, Lopez thanked and invited the Tamaraw community to support them continuously in their future games.

“Maraming salamat po sa mga sumusuporta—sumuporta sa mga laro namin. Sakong FEU community, please watch us bukas sa last game namin and sana nandiyan kayo lagi para suportahan kami. Thank you (Thank you for those who supported and are still supporting us. My FEU community, please watch us on our last game tomorrow and we are hoping you will always be there for us),” she said.

FEU Lady Tamaraws are set to play their last game today, November 24, against UP Fighting Maroons, while the men’s will be facing the AdMU Blue Eagles in the same venue.

(Photo by Gwyneth Mendoza/FEU Advocate)