UAAP 79 volleyball preview: FEU Lady Tamaraws

MANILA, Philippines – “You’re not kids anymore.” 

The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws have instilled it in them that they are no longer a rebuilding team and, now that they’ve grown in experience and developed the tools, are aiming for nothing less than the UAAP Season 79 volleyball championship. 

“Yung goal namin is championship this year, lalo na sa akin last playing year ko. Gusto ko magiwan ng legacy sa team na iiwanan ko tsaka sa buong FEU community,” said skipper Remy Palma, who will be playing out her final season. 

“Season 70 pa nung last nagchampion yung FEU. Ito yung pinaka-chance ng team namin, pinaka-peak ng lineup namin para makuha yung goal.” 

(Our goal is to win the championship this year, especially for me since it’s my last playing year. I want to leave a legacy with my team and with the FEU community. We last won a title in Season 70. This is our team’s big chance, we’re in the peak of our lineup to achieve that goal.) 

The Lady Tamaraws came within a win away from the finals last year, pushing the twice-to-beat eventual champions De La Salle University Lady Spikers to a rubber match. But after a hard-fought first game, they were swept in the second game as they crumpled amid the pressure. 

Growing from that experience and maturing both individually and collectively have been crucial points in FEU’s offseason work. With that comes the recognition that this squad is no longer in a transition phase and can certainly aim for the gold. 

“Sabi namin, ‘hindi na kayo bata. Kung experience naman ang paguusapan I think meron na rin naman tayo noon’,” head coach Shaq Delos Santos shared the focus of the team’s mind conditioning. “Yun yung mga pinapa-realize namin sa kanila. Kailangan ma-absorb nila yun in a way na kailangan mas maging positive sila and mas maging strength namin yun.” 

(We told them, ’you’re not kids anymore. If we’re talking about experience, I think we have that.’ That’s what we want them to realize. They need to absorb that in a way that will make them positive and it’ll become their strength.) 

The core from last season remains intact with setter Gyzelle Sy its only loss. Despite the absence of Sy’s reliable leadership, the Lady Tamaraws are confident they accomplished a smooth adjustment to new primary playmaker Kyle Negrito, who still has two playing years left. 

“I think wala masyadong adjustment kasi same lang naman yung tinuturo namin sa kanila,” Delos Santos said of guiding the team from Sy to Negrito. “Yun lang, consistency ng distribution ng bola ng setter namin ngayon, yun yung kailangan mas mag-improve sa amin ngayon.” 

(I think we didn’t have plenty of adjustment since we’ve been teaching them the same things. We just need consistency in the distribution of the ball from the setter, that’s what we need to improve on.) 

Negrito, for her part, is eager to step up to the challenge of excelling in a volleyball league she now recognizes is in a “battle of the setters” era. 

“Tyaga ako sa training. Lahat ng pwede kong makuhang techniques, skills, lahat ng pwede kong gawin para makatulong sa spikers ko para mapagaan yung trabaho nila,” she told Rappler, still dripping with sweat after a hard day of practice. 

“Nasa kamay ko na, nasa mga plays ko na yung magiging takbo ng team kasi diba setter, driver yan. Gagawin namin lahat para ma-reach yung goal namin na mahigitan pa yung naabot namin last year. Ngayon ang goal namin is mag-championship.”

(Hardwork in training. I learn everything I can from techniques, skills, and doing anything so I can help my spikers. It’s in my hands now, the team’s performance relies on my playmaking beacuse the setter is the driver. We will do our best to reach our goal, to go farther than what we reached last year. Now our goal is the championship.) 

Apart from Palma and Negrito, FEU will rely on veterans such as Bernadeth Pons, Toni Rose Basas, and Jerilli Malabanan. Delos Santos is positive his players are ready to lead. 

The Lady Tamaraws see the competition field as more or less balanced this year, with no clear cut team to beat, unlike the last couple of seasons when the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles and the Lady Spikers a cut above the rest. 

“I think ayaw muna namin tignan yung big picture. Dito muna kami sa every game kasi yung lahat ng teams ngayon parang level yung performance e,” the coach said. 

(I think we won’t look at the big picture for now. We’ll take it every game because the team’s right now are level.) 

FEU is set to open the new season on Sunday, February 5 with a rematch of last year’s Final Four matchup against La Salle. 

The Morayta-based squad is not intimidated going up against the defending champions right away. Instead, they are determined to prove themselves and gain redemption from last season. 

“Itong darating na game namin siyempre ang sarap sa feeling first game defending champion kalaban mo. Mas plus factor sa amin pag natalo namin sila. Mas magiging high morale kami all throughout the season,” shared Palma. 

“Yung kalaban namin defending champion nga so yung thinking ng ibang tao, ay defending champion yan tapos FEU lang kayo. Yun yung dapat namin patunayan namin na FEU kami, ito kami. Kaya namin kahit sino yung makakalaban namin.” 

(This coming game it’s a good feeling to know we’re battling the defending champion right away. There’s a plus factor for us if we beat them. We’ll gain high morale for the rest of the season. Since we’re against the defending champion, people think we’re not as good, we’re just FEU. We have to prove that we are FEU, this is us. We can take on whoever’s in front of us.) 

The UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament begins on Saturday, February 4. 

Here’s a look at FEU’s UAAP Season 79 lineup: 

• Remy Palma
• Bernadeth Pons
• Toni Rose Basas
• Kyle Negrito
• Kyla Atienza
• Buding Duremdes
• Jerilli Malabanan
• Jeanette Villareal
• Justine Rebleza
• Ivana Agudo
• Czarina Carandang
• Carlota Hernandez
• Angel Cayuna
• Heather Guino-o 

– Rappler.com