It was the end of the UAAP Season 85 road of Far Eastern University when it fell short against University of Santo Tomas on Sunday, 24-26, 25-22, 16-25, 23-25.
But for first-year Lady Tamaraws head coach Tina Salak, they keep their head held high after turning a disastrous 1-13 Season 84 squad into a 6-7 team – good enough for fifth place.
With building blocks in the likes of Jov Fernandez, Chenie Tagaod, Alyzza Devosora, Marga Encarnacion, Tin Ubaldo, Gerzel Petallo, and the Asis sisters, Salak believes the future will even be brighter.
“Kahit na eliminated kami I will feel great kasi ‘yung journey namin diba kung maiintidihan niyo lang, bago ako pumasok, halos eto na siguro ‘yung gray hair ko — natural talaga siya pumuti because of that situation na pinasok ko,” Salak said.
“But then again, sinabi ko, whatever it is FEU ‘yung pinaguusapan, so happy ako ‘yung journey namin naachieve namin nung first round – first round pa lang diba from there three wins agad, medyo na-overwhelm pero nakita namin na kaya, and we dreamed big, think big, maraming possible na lahat ng possibilities is just in front of us, ‘yun lang kung paano natin siya kukunin,” she continued.
“So kailangan natin talagang pag trabahuhan pa, not this season, but definitely next season.”
It was still a successful first season for Salak, who guided FEU to slash the ghosts of the past right in its opening game of the tournament when it defeated University of the Philippines, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 26-24, to break an 11-game skid from last season.
The Lady Tamaraws then went on to beat UP again in the second round. They also took down winless University of the East twice as well as the Faith Nisperos-led Ateneo de Manila University two times.
Salak and Co. look to cap their promising campaign with a win over Adamson University on April 30 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
With FEU’s gallant performance, Salak earned the praise of Philippine Army colleague and UST head coach Kungfu Reyes saying, “Ang ganda ng tinakbo nung team nila — nothing to be ashamed of, they performed well, kudos to all coaching staff, especially kay coach Tina nag literal para sa kanila ‘yung holistic approach niya dun sa team, so kung paano niya binuhay ang bangkay.”
“Diba ang dami niyang achievement eh kung tutuusin, pwede mo nga bigyan ng best coach si Tina eh.The way niya i-handle lahat, maganda ‘yung [outcome], at least, same page sila ng mga players nila – di man ngayon, pero another threat para sa UAAP which is maganda.” Reyes added.
Grateful was the setter-turned-coach to the praises she and her team have gotten throughout the season after a monumental rise from being the bottom team straight to being a mid-tier one.
But more than herself, Salak passed the credit to the players themselves and of course, the whole coaching staff that all has their hands in the school’s huge improvement.
“Yung pag-accept nila sa akin as head coach ‘yung respect nandun, and ‘yung willingness nila na talagang matuto. Hindi rin biro ‘yung pumasok ako dun na hindi nila ako kilala eh, hindi ko time eh, kumbaga, hindi nila ako masyadong [kilala].
“But nag-submit sila doon sa program, and binigay talaga nila lahat, and even in little things na kailangan nilang isakripisyo, sinakripisyo nila eh. ‘Yung kailangan nila sakripisyo, sinakripisyo nila para sa growth ng team,” she added.
“Hindi ko magagawa lahat ‘to [kung mag-isa], I’m not working alone kailangan ko talaga ng support, and coaches ko been there kahit anong mangyari na lahat ng sakripsiyo nila na kahit 14 hours kami sa loob ng court, nasa FEU, kahit na ang trabaho namin ay tatlong oras lang just for the sake na ‘yung commitment namin para mai-improve ‘yung level ng competition ng Lady Tamaraws, said Salak on her staff that includes Joanne Bunag, Manolo Refugia, and Karlo Gorospe.
