Far Eastern University head coach Manolo Refugia asserts that for the Lady Tamaraws to bring their best against the NU Lady Bulldogs in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament, they must first believe they belong.
Far Eastern University did not end its elimination round as planned, but the Lady Tamaraws wasted no time shifting their focus to the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86.
After seeing their five-game winning streak snapped by a straight-set loss to fellow semifinalist National University last Wednesday, FEU head coach Manolo Refugia and his wards did not dwell on the setback and instead redirected their attention to the challenge ahead.
After all, the Lady Tamaraws are set to face the Lady Bulldogs once again on May 4, Saturday. But this time around, NU has a twice-to-beat advantage which means a loss for FEU marks the end the team's quest for a 30th UAAP women’s volleyball championship.
“Siguro okay naman natapos ‘yung second round ng 9-5. Kinapos lang sa last game pero mahaba pa ‘yung time para mag prepare ulit para mapagaralan pa, mapa-kalma pa ‘yung sarili at maka move on agad para sa darating na Final Four and ready,” Refugia said.
The first-year coach then furthered, “Siguro mag focus muna kami doon sa unang game talaga. Talagang ibuhos muna doon ‘yung focus namin, ‘yung paniniwala namin na kaya naman, na kailangan talaga ‘yung pasensya namin sa bawa't isa para maibigay namin ‘yung best.”
To perform at their absolute best, Refugia said the team must first believe they belong at this stage of the competition.
“Siguro umpisahan na muna namin as a team na maniwala muna. Siguro doon kami mamuhunan muna para maipakita namin o maibigay pa namin ‘yung anong performance na kaya namin ibigay para makalaban sa NU,” he stated.
It's been a while since FEU made it to the Final Four—Season 81 in 2019, to be exact. At one point during Season 84, the Lady Tamaraws hit rock bottom, finishing last with just one win in 14 games. But now, they're back in the postseason.
Reflecting on such a journey, Refugia takes pride in how the Morayta-based squad has turned its fortunes around.
“Sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam na ipaglaban ‘yung FEU since then pa, dati pa hanggang ngayon. Napakasaya, napakasarap sa feeling kasi ‘yung kwento ng bawa't isa sa kanila, ‘yung kwento noong team noong 84, ‘yung kwento ng team last year, tapos ‘yung kwento ngayon tapos ‘yung nakikitang resulta so maganda,” he said.
“Napaka-overwhelming niya lalo na sa akin kasi first year. Pero hindi pa doon nagtatapos eh. Kaya pa may ibubuga pa.”