Racela wary of FEU’s inconsistencies, Comboy apologizes for UE loss

MANILA, Philippines – After a shocking 25-point drubbing at the hands of cellar-dweller UE Red Warriors, the FEU Tamaraws were itching to move on.

And move on, they did, quickly bouncing back and edging out the NU Bulldogs in a gritty 73-68 win on Wednesday, October 3.

But head coach Olsen Racela is not fully convinced, because he’s seen this script twice before.

“Of course, you’re always happy with the bounce-back victory, but the problem is after the victory. We suck in responding to a victory,” Racela said.

“After winning our first game [against La Salle], we lost the second one [versus UST]. We got a bounce-back victory [against UP] then we lost the next one [versus UE]. That’s our story [so far].

“More than bouncing back, what we need to do is to be consistent with our approach to every game,” he emphasized.

Racela echoed the sentiments of transferee guard Hubert Cani, who told reporters after the UE loss that he felt he and his teammates were “cheating” their approach to the game. Back then, Cani talked with the media instead of Racela, who respectfully declined to comment in the immediate aftermath.

Meanwhile, streaky guard Wendell Comboy let out a follow-up apology to the team’s fans after their NU win.

“On behalf of our team, para sa FEU community, di kami yung naglaro nung UE,” he said after finishing with a game-high 18 points on an accurate 3-of-4 (75%) clip from downtown.

“Wala kami sa ulo, kaya humihingi kami ng pasensya. Bibigay namin yung best namin, di kami gigive-up every play. Yun yung maaasahan niyo sa amin.”

(On behalf of our team, for the FEU community, we weren’t ourselves playing against UE. We weren’t right in the head, and we apologize. We will give our best and not give up on every play. That’s what you can expect from us.)

Comboy fell 2 points shy of tying his career-high, but still tallied his best scoring output in two years. The UE loss lit a fire under him and kept burning in the NU game.

“Sobrang nakakahiya [yung talo.] Di kami makatulog,” he said. “Paggising mo, parang gusto mo na agad, game day na. Gusto mong bumawi na. Sa tingin ko naman excited kami bumawi.”

(That loss was so embarrassing. We couldn’t sleep well. Once you wake up, you’d wish it was game day already so you can get revenge. I think we were all excited to bounce back.)

Now that they have their second bounce-back win in the bag, time will tell if they can break their up-and-down streak.

Up next? The undefeated Adamson Soaring Falcons on Sunday, October 7. – Rappler.com