By Joshua Kyle Beltran

Despite being heartbroken by defeat early into the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 women’s volleyball tourney and confined to long-standing opinions, Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws team captain Gerzel Petallo swore to stop history from repeating itself. 

Facing off for the first time since their Final Four showdown last Season 87, FEU fell short of avenging the loss to the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs via reverse sweep yesterday, February 21—marking their second loss of the season.

This, in turn, brought back a bitter taste in Petallo’s mouth. But not for long.

The Lady Tams’ ‘multo’ 

Admitting that while they are lucky they could still improve from the premature loss, Petallo still expressed the pain of missing out on what could have been a big confidence boost for the team.

“Sa other side na positive no’n, nangyari na siya early pa lang ng season. Madami pa naman kaming games—though masakit siya. Masakit talaga sa’min ‘yun, sobrang sakit. Nandun na, eh (On the bright side, it happened early in the season. We still have a lot of games, but it still hurt. We were already there),” the Morayta-based team captain said in an interview with FEU Advocate.

To recall, the Lady Tamaraws owned the first two sets of the said loss. While it was not an issue for Petallo to play for as long as five sets, she mentioned how faltering their 11-7 lead in the fifth set added salt to the wound. 

“Kaya siya mas masakit, kasi we [were] leading. Apat na lang, we’re gonna win. Kaso wala, napako kami sa 11, tapos ayun, sunod-sunod na. Ta’s nung nakaabante na, ‘di na nakaabante ulit (The reason it hurts more is because we were leading. We just needed four more points to win. But we hit a wall by the 11th point. Even after gaining another, we still fell short),” she shared.

To lose in the eliminations is one thing, but to fall again in the same manner to the team who pulled the rug out from a near-Finals appearance stung more for the outside hitter, mentioning how it became frustratingly repetitive.

“Redemption sana rin ‘yun. Same pa rin ‘yung nangyari nung Final Four, ni-reverse sweep kami ulit. I don’t know, but it became redundant na sa team (It was supposed to be our redemption. But the same thing happened again, we were reverse swept),” Petallo recollected. 

Confined from the noise outside and in

From last season’s Finals appearance miss to their recent late-game blunder, the green-and-gold volleybelles remained under heated criticism from FEU and volleyball fans alike.

Always labelled as having ‘choking tendencies’ or not being able to ‘finish,’ Petallo acknowledged to an extent that they lack the collective ability to follow through and close out during the late game.

“Palaging sinasabi sa’min ‘yun na wala kaming panapos. We always think about the first two sets, but paano na ‘yung last set, [na] ‘yun ‘yung pinaka-importante na mananalo na kami (People always say that we do not have the concluder. We only think about the first two sets, but what about the last set where it matters most)?” she emphasized.

Aware of their lapses, Gerzel exclaimed that such errors should be minimized, or better yet, eliminated. 

“Mahina pa ‘yung mentality… Nung nag-shift na ‘yung momentum, nag-doubt na kaagad… Wala, eh, fifth set na, nag-e-error pa rin? It should not happen (We still have a weak mentality. When the momentum shifted, doubts immediately came in. Fifth set and we are still making errors?),” the team captain said. 

Fortitude: the key to escaping their nightmare

Still, Petallo did not let the noise get the best of her or the team. 

Determined to take things ‘point by point,’ the outside hitter shifted her focus to working on their fighting mentality. 

“We work more on [the] mental side. Physically, we’re good, nakaka-recover naman; nakakasabay sa skills (We are able to recover and keep up in terms of skills)... We [will] work on mentality, the will to win. ‘Yung grit talaga (It is really the grit),” Petallo expressed.

While the green-and-gold team captain acknowledged NU’s championship experience, she mentioned how grit will heighten their chances of taking on the Lady Bulldogs.

“If they have the experience, siyempre, mataas ‘yung percentage sa game na mag-dominate sila, kasi nga, nakailang championship experiencessila… Dapat mas lalamang kami sa will to win (They have a higher chance to dominate because of their experience. That is why we need to have more willpower),” Gerzel said.

If most people think that the Lady Tamaraws are not championship material, then those people are wrong. Because if there was one thing yesterday’s game taught FEU, it was that all along: they were and are worthy.

“‘Yung sa amin lang talaga, nakita namin na we can dominate naman pala. Ever since, ilang taon na, ilang season na… Next time, since alam na namin, wala talagang bibitaw… NU is NU. But FEU is FEU (That game showed us that we can dominate. For so many seasons already. Next time, since we already know what to do, we will do better),” she confidently expressed. 

Not bound by their mistakes in the early moments of the tourney, Gerzel Petallo always reminds the team that ‘it has always been them’—themselves—who can turn things around and to not let pressure dictate their destiny.

(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)