MANILA, Philippines – The FEU Lady Tamaraws are smack in the middle of the standings after the first round of hostilities in UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament wrapped up over the weekend.
Ending the first round on a two-game win streak, the Morayta-based squad tallied wins against all teams in the bottom half of the standings. But as they head into the final half of eliminations, they have their eyes set on the Top 3 teams.
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With a 4-3 record, FEU’s losses came at the hands of the three teams ahead of them – UST, La Salle, and NU.
Even with the losses, FEU was able to show their fight against last year’s Final Four teams. Looking ahead, FEU head coach Manolo Refugia will hope to be more consistent in their fighting spirit.
“Sa tingin ko, mas kailangan namin maging consistent doon sa ginagawa namin. Knowing na yung tatlong talo namin, parang naramdaman [ng players] na kaya namin lumaban pala,” he said, after their four-set win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Sunday.
“So nakita nila, nafeel nila, naramdaman nila kung paano kalaban yung nasa Top 3, or yung dating nasa Final Four.”
Refugia acknowledges that there are still gaps to fill heading into the second half of the season so they can keep their place in the top four.
With a couple of days before they plunge back into action, the tactician plans to have his team bridge those gaps sooner rather than later.
“Etong magiging preparation siguro sa second round is yung habulin yung mga dapat habulin na skills para mapagaralan namin yung mga tatlong [teams na] yun,” he said.
“Tapos syempre, di ppwede na pabayaan parin yung ibang teams. Syempre, ayun yung mabigat sa second round, di natin alam kung lahat ba eh papataas o meron bang pababa so, kailangan maging ready sa lahat so baunin yung mga dapat baunin na bala namin,” he added.
Currently, the Lady Tamaraws are above .500 at 4-3 and are solo fourth in the standings.