FAR Eastern University may have gotten back on track after its late collapse against Adamson, but Sean Chambers knows wins over UE then defending champion La Salle would mean little if the Tamaraws cannot eventually prove they belong with the UAAP’s elite.
READ: Mongcopa-led FEU tramples La Salle en route to back-to-back wins
For Chambers, becoming a contender is not simply about downing teams below the green-and-gold in the pecking order. It is about consistently taking down the programs that have established themselves as the consistent powers.
That belief comes from Chambers’ own heralded career with Alaska in the PBA, where he felt the Milkmen only truly announced their arrival once they started getting the better of perennial rival San Miguel.
“I'm going to bring up my own career. Once we (Alaska) started beating San Miguel, that's when we knew we had arrived,” he said.
And so, that same standard now applies to his FEU wards.
“Until we start beating La Salle, UP, or the top (seed), NU, then we're going to know that we actually are one of the contenders,” he said.
Tamaraws' tall task
The Tams entered Season 89 hoping to finally break through after missing the Final Four in each of the last four seasons. They immediately found themselves in a tight spot after blowing a late lead in a 56-53 loss to the Soaring Falcons on opening day.
They responded by overwhelming the Red Warriors, then imposing their will on the reigning kings Green Archers.
For Chambers, though, the real test goes beyond any single result.
“We have to take this game, enjoy it, but we got to move on because... I don't know the schedule, but it's never an easy day here. It's never an easy day,” he said, as, to be clear, their next assignments are UP, Ateneo, National U, and UST.
That is the price of trying to turn FEU from a team capable of making noise into one that can legitimately contend for a championship.
And Chambers is already familiar with the long road required to get there.
“I'm just happy that we're there. Clearly, my first year we were 0-6. Then my next year, we were 0-4 before we won our first game, so it does feel good to be on this side of the table for once, for my third year,” he said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
