Veteran hitter Chenie Tagaod took advice from head coach Tina Salak to heart as the FEU Lady Tamaraws survived a tough challenge from UP in UAAP Season 87.
The FEU Lady Tamaraws held on for dear life on their top-4 spot in the UAAP Season 87 standings, taking a pivotal win against the UP Fighting Maroons in four sets at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
After squandering an early 12-3 lead in the deciding set, FEU found themselves actually down to a four-point hole, 16-20.
But the Lady Tamaraws stood their ground and battled back with a 8-2 run that had them at match point, 24-22. Even when UP threatened to extend the match with back-to-back points, FEU dug deep to score the next two points and clinch the victory.
Among the team’s veterans, Chenie Tagaod said that it was something that head coach Tina Salak told the Lady Tams during set 4 which inspired them to take the win.
“Umabot kasi kami sa point na sinabi talaga ni coach na ‘quitting is never an option’ dun po kami mas kumapit kasi tama din naman po na yung pagq-quit hindi siya option para malampasan namin kung ano man yung pinagdadaanan namin,” said Tagaod.
“So ayun, composed kami sa fourth set and mas tinibayan namin, and mas binigyan namin ng tiwala yung mga kasama namin.”
To say that the victory is crucial would be an understatement, as a loss against the Fighting Maroons would’ve dropped FEU out of the top-4 at this late stage of eliminations.
But now, they’re firmly in the mix as they edged UST for the no. 3 spot due to head-to-head matchup.
Despite their good standing, Tagaod said that they’ll continue to work on their game with three assignments remaining in the eliminations, especially considering that the race for the semifinals is neck-and-neck at the moment.
“Need pa namin mas taasan yung standard and syempre yung trabaho namin… Kung paano kami mas committed dun sa team [namin] so trabaho rin ulit talaga kami kasi may goal this second round,” said Tagaod.
“Mas gusto namin angatan yung third spot so trabaho lang [kami],” she added.
At the moment, FEU is at 7-4 with remaining games against Ateneo, Adamson, and La Salle.