Far Eastern University’s start to the Sean Chambers era has been less than ideal.
The Tamaraws finished the first round with a 1-6 win-loss record, capped by a 72-83 defeat to the University of Santo Tomas on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
To turn their fortunes around in the second round, FEU’s top gunner Jorick Bautista is calling on his young teammates to develop the maturity needed to make a late push for a Final Four slot.
Chambers has entrusted Bautista with leading a youthful FEU squad, which includes highly-touted rookies like Janrey Pasaol, Veejay Pre, Jedric Daa, Mo Kanateh, and Adam Nakai, along with five other freshmen.
“Siguro yung maturity sa loob ng court, which is pagdating ng mga end game, mas kailangan namin mabuo pa, mas kailangan namin gawin yung sistema ni Coach Sean,” said Bautista, who scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting in their loss to UST.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In addition to maturity, Bautista hopes his teammates can inject much-needed bravery and clutch performances, especially in close games.
This is critical, as three of FEU’s six losses have come by single digits: a six-point defeat to reigning champion La Salle (62-68); a five-point, come-from-behind loss to UE (51-56); and a two-point meltdown against NU (60-62).
“Siguro yung lakas ng loob pa. Kailangan namin lalo pang tapangan, lalo sa pagdating ng down the stretch kasi doon kami bumibigay. Kahit dati pa, ‘yun pa rin yung kailangan namin i-improve ngayon,” added Bautista, a native of Davao City.
To ease the burden on Bautista – who has averaged nearly 29 minutes per game through six contests – Chambers will rely on the rapid development of his rookies as he looks to implement a deeper player rotation in the second round.
The 59-year-old coach offered a glimpse of his strategy by going 11 players deep in their most recent game.
“We’re trying to save Jorick as much as possible down the stretch, and we’re playing Mo (Konateh) and Veejay (Pre) a lot of minutes,” said one of the greatest imports to grace the PBA.
“So we’re trying to extend our bench and see which young kids can contribute right now. We’re still figuring things out, but it’s time for others to step up and help us extend our rotation.”
