By Leiniel A. Santos

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw returning head coach Tina ‘Coach T’ Salak expressed that she felt at her prime with the green-and-gold during the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 volleyball press conference earlier today, February 13, at the Coral Way Lobby, Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“Parang sa’kin, hindi ko kayang iwan eh. Nu’ng last time kasi na umalis ako, it’s like bigla, so ‘di rin ako naka-decide kung ano ba talaga gusto ko, whether may regret ba ‘ko or something. Ayokong umabot kasi sa point na ‘di ko pinagbigyan ‘yung sarili ko. Ayun ‘yung sa'kin, ituloy ko ‘to kasi ito ‘yung pinakamasaya. I mean I'm at my best when I'm here,” she said in an interview with FEU Advocate.

During her UAAP collegiate coach debut in Season 85, Salak assisted the Morayta-based squad in regaining their confidence with a 6-8 win-loss record in fifth place from their heartbreaking finish in Season 84 where they placed last.

Despite foregoing her position as head coach in Season 86, Salak still stayed in the Lady Tamaraws’ coaching staff.

The returning head coach then mentioned that she is now more privileged with FEU’s lineup this season.

“I’m very lucky to have ‘yung privilege ko na magkaroon ngayon ng ganitong lineup compared to last time. Itong season... iba na, eh. Nakita ko ‘yung essence ng bawat isa. Before kasi puro sunod lang, eh, so parang may takot pa. Ngayon, iba na ‘yung relationship namin… Ang sa’kin talaga, sobrang happy ako sa lineup na ‘to (I’m very lucky to have the privilege of having this kind of lineup now compared to last time. This season is different—I’ve seen the essence of each player. Before, it was mostly just following along, so there was still some fear. But now, our relationship is different. For me, I’m really happy with this lineup),” she added.

Salak also tackled the challenge of improving on former head coach Manolo Refugia’s achievement of almost reaching the finals with a deciding semis game last season.

“Mas challenging para sa’kin, especially ‘yung nagawa ni Coach Nols [Manolo Refugia] during [Season] 86 so nag-Final Four and nagkaroon din ng chance ng almost finals appearance dahil nga ro'n sa second game (It’s more challenging for me, especially what Coach Nols did during Season 86, where they made it to the Final Four and even had a chance for an almost finals appearance because of that second game),” she said.

The Salak-led squad will kick off the tournament against last season’s silver medalists, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, on Saturday, February 15, inside the Mall of Asia Arena.

(Photo by Karch Rafael/FEU Advocate)