FEU coach Raiza Palmera-Dy tells the Lady Tamaraws to compete like it’s their last chance as Round 2 of UAAP Season 87 begins.
The FEU Lady Tamaraws are taking each game they have left in UAAP Season 87 with high stakes as they aim to make a resurgent run for a spot in the Final Four, taking a win over the Adamson Lady Falcons. 67-64, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
After a 1-6 record in the first half of the season, the Lady Tamaraws came out of the break with an optimistic attitude. With still a long way ahead of themselves, head coach Raiza Palmera-Dy said that they wanted to take matters into their own hands.
“Sinasabi ko na nga sa kanila, nasa kamay pa namin 'yung chances if we can make it to the Final Four, the playoffs. It’s up to them. It’s up to us,” Palmera-Dy said after the win which stopped Adamson’s win streak at two.
“So ang reminder ko na lang sa kanila kanina, one last reminder sa dugout before they went out for their warm-up, let’s treat every game as a championship game. So 'yun 'yung mentality namin coming out of the dugout.”
Early on in the year, the Lady Tams suffered a huge setback as foreign student-athlete Josee Kaputu, who was named Mythical Five last season, suffered an injury that rendered her out of action.
But even against the likes of Kemi Adeshina and the rest of the Adamson arsenal, FEU stood tall — squeaking past with the three-point victory.
The win came even as Ryan Monteclaro’s Lady Falcons rallied late and went back-and-forth with them.
According to Palmera-Dy, it was something that they prided themselves on — being able to get back into the game even when they were down.
Wanting to improve on finishing the game and getting over the hump Palmera-Dy said that it was something that the players get to experience in practice.
“Eto 'yung isa sa mga inaddress namin during our practices. We had some scenarios na last three minutes, last two minutes, the other team is down by seven and you have to overcome that. Because 'yun 'yung natutunan namin for the past games namin, na we can’t go over that hump eh. So 'yun 'yung pinag-focusan namin,” said the women’s basketball icon.
“'Yun 'yung nire-remind ko sa kanila during the timeouts. We have several drills na same scenarios as this. They are down seven points sa drills and yet, kanina we are just down by three. So I know that they can handle this. I know that we can pull this off.”
Still, at 2-5, it remains an uphill battle for the Lady Tamaraws for the rest of the year. The next challenge to their hopes of competing for a Final Four spot? A win-hungry UE Lady Warriors squad.
FEU battles UE on Sunday, October 20, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.