Red-hot Lady Tams target top 2, twice-to-beat edge

MANILA Philippines – Far Eastern University (FEU) won’t settle for just a Final Four ticket in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament. 

For FEU coach George Pascua, the red-hot Lady Tamaraws still have a strong shot at grabbing a top two berth, which comes with a twice-to-beat semifinal advantage.

FEU remained tied with University of Santo Tomas (UST) at 3rd with an 8-4 record behind pacesetter Ateneo (10-1) and defending champion La Salle (8-3). 

“Yun naman ang objective namin, yung No. 2 slot makuha namin para yung twice-to-beat. Pero siyempre, kailangan talunin muna namin ang UST at ang La Salle,” said Pascua.

(That is our objective, to be able to grab the No. 2 slot so that we can enjoy a twice-to-beat edge. However, we know that in order for us to achieve that, we should defeat UST and La Salle first.)

The Lady Tamaraws will wrap up their elimination campaign against UST on April 14 and La Salle on April 28 in a rematch of last season’s finals. 

For veteran FEU spiker Heather Guino-o, the last two games will test the character and true strength of their team.

“Sobrang halaga ng last two games namin kasi dito na namin malalaman kung gaano kami katapang, para kumapit hanggang dulo. Dito na namin kailangan ipakita talaga kung ano ‘yung kakayahan ng team,” said Guino-o.

(Our last two games are very important because it will test how brave we are, if we could hold on to our goal until the end. These last two games for us will help us see our true strength as a team.)

Pascua noted that the final stretch of the eliminations can make or break their season.

“Yung sabi ko nga sa kanila, must-win, hindi na pwedeng matalo. Kung maari, ang importante is manalo,” he said. “Ano lang, mind-setting lang, kung sino ang kalaban. Kasi mahirap kung gusto naming kalaban si ganito. Kung sino yung kakaharapin namin, yun ang paplanuhin.” 

(Just like I said to them, the last two games are must-wins. If possible, win all games. Mind-setting is also important for us because we can’t pick our opponents in the playoffs. Whichever team will be matched against us, we just have to prepare.) – Wilmyn Migguel See/Rappler.com