The UAAP Season 79 Men’s Football Tournament may have started, but the fallout from the previous edition can still be felt.
Perhaps no team had a more disappointing campaign last season than the Far Eastern University Tamaraws who, as back-to-back champions, failed to even enter the Final Four.
One of the question marks after that season was whether or not star midfielder Paolo Bugas would return to play in his final year of eligibility. Bugas had already been capped by the national team, was already a player for Global Football Club, and seemed like he had no more reason to play for FEU.
But Bugas had other plans, and his actions spoke louder than anything else when he walked onto the Rizal Memorial Stadium pitch in FEU colors against the University of Santo Tomas last Sunday, effectively quashing all hearsay about his playing status.
“Nag-work kami sa bago naming system kasi nga may bago kaming coaches,” commented Bugas after FEU’s 2-0 win over UST.
“Pero yun nga from Master Kim and yung bagong coaches namin, na-mix namin ang system before and ngayon. Maganda naman ang naging result. Actually ngayon lang namin nagamit yung system na ito so naging maganda naman ang pinakita ng mga kasama ko.”
It felt as if the Tamaraws’ first win this season was a huge one, not only because of the three points but also due to the team’s problems off the pitch.
“Actually before mag-start ang season nagkaroon ng conflict sa team.
“May mga problema, parang personal problems sa team so iniisip lang namin na kung sinoman ang mag-handle sa’min re-respetuhin namin,” admitted Bugas, who had been crowned the league’s MVP during the 76th Season of the UAAP.
“Ayoko ring personalin yung problema na yun. Siyempre dito ako lumaki sa FEU. Ayoko naman umalis nang basta-basta kasi siyempre may pangalan ako sa FEU. Ayoko rin masira pangalan ko eh.
“Ganun din sinasabi ko sa kapatid ko sa juniors team na kung puwedeng mag-trabaho lang at huwag sirain ang pangalan kasi trabaho natin yan para makilala tayo sa FEU,” the 22-year-old added.
Vince Santos was named head coach of FEU before the start of the season, replacing two-time UAAP champion mentor Kim Chul Su. Bugas stated that although the team hadn’t had a very good pre-season, Santos and his staff managed to put the pieces together just one month before the season started.
When the Azkal was asked about what had pushed him to play his final year for FEU, he only had one answer: loyalty.
“Nag-decide talaga ako na babalik ako kasi siyempre may respeto ako sa mga boss namin sa FEU. Lumaki ako dito kasi kung hindi dahil sa kanila, siguro wala ako sa FEU,” the native of Nabunturan, Compostela Valley, shared. “Sila din nagbigay sa akin ng chance na maglaro dito. Ayoko naman basta iwanan ang team tsaka FEU.”
“Siyempre last season ko na and gusto ko i-prove sa FEU community na kahit anong mangyari, may team rin ako sa labas like Global, kung kaya kong i-balance this season gagawin ko. Tsaka di ko naman babalewalain ang Global, participate rin ako sa trainings doon sa mga upcoming games. Balance talaga.”
A final UAAP championship and a successful AFC Cup run is what Bugas yearns for in the coming months.
He’s already proven his sense of loyalty by staying in FEU after a disastrous Season 78. Now, it’s a matter of capitalizing on it.
