By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

After six straight seasons of defeat since Season 81, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws finally returned the favor to the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 27-25, 25-14, 25-23, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s volleyball tournament earlier today, February 23, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

In the post-march press conference, FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo highlighted their thirst for success as the main reason behind their dominance.

“‘Yung pagkauhaw namin[g manalo]—lahat ng team, gustong umakyat sa pinakadulo, eh. Siguro, ‘yun lang [‘yung] pinanghahawakan namin. Tulad nun, antagal nun, 2019—ngayon lang ulit… Kayod lang hanggang makuha namin ‘yung pinakarurok ng tagumpay (Our thirst to win—all teams want to reach the very end. Maybe, that’s the only thing we grasp at. Just like that, 2019 was so long ago—we won again just now… We should just work hard until we achieve the very edge of glory),” he said.

The Tams struggled early in scoring off their plays, only keeping up through the Bulldogs’ errors. FEU’s first marker off their own offense did not come until Doula Ndongala’s attack to 6-8.

With the Morayta squad continuously failing to match NU in scoring, the former faced a 17-21 deficit later in the set. 

Fortunately, with Amet Bituin and Ariel Cacao substituting for Mikko Espartero and Benny Martinez, and Dryx Saavedra going into overdrive, the green-and-gold squad turned the set upside-down through a 10-4 surge, 27-25.

Unlike the first frame, FEU came out guns blazing in the second, leading in attacks and blocks early to force an NU timeout at 11-8.

The momentum never left the Tamaraws’ side with every player showing out throughout the set, dominating every stat to snag it with a game-high 11-point advantage, 25-14.

With one side wanting to close out and the other hoping to come back, the third set had both teams scrambling for the lead with their 10th standstill at 16-16.

The Morayta-based spikers eventually pulled away to get to matchpoint, 24-19, but the Jhocson squad did not go down without a fight, inching closer at 24-23.

Still, FEU reigned supreme in just the next rally, 25-23, extending their win streak to three.

In the same conference, Saavedra mentioned how they value the mental aspect of playing on the court, which became vital to their wins.

“Good thing ngayon sa team namin, napag-uusapan namin ‘yung mental [side]. Talagang ‘yun ‘yung kulang namin last season, eh. Sana tuloy-tuloy kasi maganda ‘yung kinalabasan, eh… Nag-e-enjoy lang and lahat, ipinapakita ‘yung best nila (The good thing about out team right now is we talk about the mental side. That’s really what we lacked last season. I hope it’s continuous because the results are good… Everyone is enjoying and showing their best),” he shared.

Bituin then emphasized that they should always look back to their origins and main goal to carry their momentum into their future games.

“Isipin lang namin lagi kung sa’n kami nag-umpisa and kung ano ‘yung goal namin [para] ma-maintain namin ‘yung momentum (We should just think about where we started and what our goal is to mainatin our momentum),” the rookie added.

Saavedra and Bituin contributed 20 and 10 points, respectively, while team captain Jelord Talisayan joined them with 11 markers of his own.

FEU is set to have a one-week break before clashing against Ateneo de Manila University next Sunday, March 2, at the same venue.

(Photo courtesy of the UAAP Media Team)