Far Eastern University finished the first round of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament in fourth spot with a 4-3 record.
The Lady Tamaraws’ slate really indicated which teams were above them and which squads were below them.
All four wins of FEU came at the expense of the bottom four teams while all their three defeats came at the hands of the top three teams.
With this, the Lady Tamaraws’ playmaker is “confident” of their chances heading into the second round after barely missing it last season.
Although they have beaten Ateneo de Manila University (2-5), Adamson University (2-5), University of the East (1-5), and University of the Philippines (0-6), Ubaldo and the rest of FEU would still caution against the lower teams that all possess upset threats.
“We’re confident pero not too confident kasi parang maglalaban laban pa ulit kami, bilog pa rin yung bola hindi pa rin kami yung sure na nasa number four kaya yung confidence namin nandoon pero more yung kailangan namin iwork sa training,” said Ubaldo, who had 15 excellent sets and six blocks on FEU’s win against Ateneo on Sunday.
On the other hand, they all experience losses against the unbeaten University of Santo Tomas (7-0), De La Salle University (6-1), and National University (5-2).
However, head coach Manolo Refugia shared that those defeats would strengthen them and make them more motivated come the second round, especially after dragging UST to five sets and NU to four.
“Sa tingin ko mas kailangan namin maging consistent sa ginagawa namin knowing na yung tatlong talo namin naramdaman nila na kaya namin lumaban pala,” said Refugia.
“Nakita nila, nafeel nila kung paano kalaban yung nasa top three or yung dating nasa Final Four. Itong magiging preparation siguro sa second round is yung habulin yung mga dapat habulin na skills para mapag-aralan namin yung tatlo na yun,” he added.
Refugia though, just like Ubaldo, is still wary about the four teams they’ve already defeated.
Ateneo got one set against the Lady Tamaraws while UE forced a decider before running out of gas.
“Syempre hindi pupwede na pabayaan pa rin yung ibang teams, syempre ayun yung mabigat sa second round, hindi natin alam kung lahat ba ay papataas or meron bang pababa so kailangan maging ready sa lahat so baunin na yung mga dapat baunin na bala namin,” said the first-year coach.
