MANILA, Philippines - Following a disastrous campaign in UAAP Season 75 where it failed to reach the Final Four after back-to-back runner-up finishes, Far Eastern U could only blame its setback to its failure to cash in on their three cracks at a semis berth.
The Tams, one-time leader and among the top three majority of the double-round elims, dropped their last three games to miss the Final Four.
They lost a sure victory when the UAAP board of trustees nullified their 77-75 conquest of National U last Sept. 2 and ordered a replay, which they eventually lost, 84-81 in overtime, sending them to a do-or-die match with La Salle.
Two setbacks to DLSU in between the NU replay, 56-63 in the second round and 66-69 in the playoff for the last berth, sealed FEU’s doom.
“Ganon talaga. Una yung replay, tapos yung two games na kailangang kailangan namin (That’s the way it goes. First the replay, then the two important games we failed to win),” a dejected coach Bert Flores said.
The board-ordered replay, he pointed out, was the turning point for the Tams’ “bad season.”
“Parang masama ang loob nila. Kumbaga andun na kami, bakit uulitin pa at bibigyan ng chance? Kahit sino naman, kahit asawa ko na walang alam sa basketball sinasabi ‘bakit ganun?’ Pero wala na rin tayong magagawa (Players were demoralized. We’re already there in the Final Four and then they ordered a replay and gave NU a chance. Even my wife, a non-basketball expert, was asking ‘why play it again?’ But we couldn’t do anything about it anymore),” Flores said.
One of the pre-tournament favorites, the Tams settled for fifth place overall, missing the semis for the first time since 2007.
“Bad season talaga kasi coming from finals, tapos ganito. Ito ang chance sana na mag-champion (Bad season, considering we came from the finals last year. We had a chance to even win a championship),” he said.
Looking forward, Flores said he still sees a solid group, with only Mark Bringas and Clarence Foronda graduating, although it’s still not sure whether RR Garcia will play his fifth year next season. But Flores also admitted his status as coach is uncertain at this point.
“Matibay pa rin naman, tapos may recruitment pa (It’s still pretty solid plus we’ll have some recruits),” he said. “Ako naman, bahala na ang management. Mahirap sa isang banda pero nasa kanila yun (As for me, it’s up to management if they want to retain me as head coach).”