By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws player-turned-head coach Raiza Palmera-Dy emphasized the contrast between playing and being the lead tactician as they succumbed to the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons, 63-76, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women's basketball tournament earlier today, September 8, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

"Actually, it's a totally different experience. Masaya[ng] maglaro, gustong-gusto ko 'yung pressure inside. Masaya [r]in sa labas ng court na nagdi-direct ka... The fact na I'm helping these players, napakalaking bagay sa'kin (It's fun to play, I really like the pressure inside. It's also fun to direct outside the court. The fact that I'm helping these players, that's a very big thing for me)," the green-and-gold legend said in a post-game interview with FEU Advocate.

The Palmera-Dy-led squad had to make do with foreign student-athlete Josee Kaputu sitting out the game due to a suspension caused by her two unsportsmanlike fouls from Season 86.

Both squads struggled to pull away with a one-possession game four minutes left in the first quarter, 4-7.

Despite Kaputu's absence causing them to give up offensive rebounds to Adamson, the Lady Tams ran the break and applied pressure defense to have a 14-12 lead at the end of the frame.

In the second quarter, it took until 7:24 left for FEU to score and take back the lead, 16-14.

Unfortunately, the lack of a reliable inside presence plagued the Morayta squad once again, granting the San Marcelino team easy points.

With the Lady Tams' turnovers, it allowed fastbreak opportunities for the Lady Falcons to separate at half-time, 27-33.

The third canto started off with FEU going down by nine after an early triple from AdU.

With a 10-4 run, the green-and-gold cagebelles were able to cut the lead down to three, but the lead went back to nine as the blue-and-white squad's physicality forced them to commit fouls, 37-46. 

The deficit continued to widen, going up by 14, with the teams exiting the frame at 44-54.

The Lady Tams' slump extended into the final quarter, as the lead ballooned to a game-high 17, 52-69, due to the Lady Falcons already draining three treys halfway through the canto.

FEU's comeback efforts in the final stretch proved too late as the lead remained in double digits until the final buzzer, 63-76.

Considering the major absence of Kaputu in the loss, Palmera-Dy highlighted her expectation for the team to improve based on their learnings.

"Lumaban kami without Josee so [i]-expect niyo the next games namin, mas didiin kami sa depensa [at] opensa. We know what to address already sa game na 'to so 'yun 'yung ita-try naming i-work on for the next few weeks (We fought hard without Josee so expect that in our next games, we will push harder on defense and offense. We know what to address already from this game so those will be what we will try to work on for the next few weeks)," she stated.

The lead tactician also mentioned the value of the players' confidence in their success.

"Kailangan baunin nila 'yung confidence nila. Sabi ko magagalit ako (They need to bring their confidence. I told them I'll be mad) if you're thinking twice. Once you're open, you hit that shot. Make sure [that] on defense, we'll be there till the end of the last minute," Coach Raiza added.

Big man Joann Nagma led the scoring effort with 14 points to her name followed by team captain MJ Manguiat and guard Shane Salvani with 13 and 12 markers, respectively.

The Palmera-Dy-led squad will try to bounce back in their next game against University of the East on Saturday, September 14, at the same venue.

(Photo by Zedrich Xylak Madrid/FEU Advocate)