THUS far in UAAP Season 88, Far Eastern University seems to be masquerading as both a shorthanded squad and a viable threat.
Sure, they currently hold the second-most losses, with only one win to show through six games, but majority of those came in the form of narrow defeats - by three to defending champion University of the Philippines and resurgent Ateneo and by one to runner-up La Salle.
This fact, however, has led to interactions that have actually caught the ire of coach Sean Chambers.
“Right now, one of the things that I would say is most offensive, but I cannot tell them, is how many times out in the community people go, ‘Oh my God, you lost to UP by three, great job!’ And I don't want to hear that because I'm like, 'No, we want to win,'” he said.
“They're going, great job, because the expectation is that we're supposed to get blown out. That's what everybody thinks in the community and I know that,” he added.
With their losses piling up, and the expectations for the proud program as low as they have ever been, it'd be understandable for the Tamaraws to hang their heads.
But contenders are built by time, not just by pressure. Even Chambers, who didn’t see a lot of down years back in Alaska, knows it full well.
In fact, even their recent tormentor, University of Santo Tomas, was a perfect example for it.
“If I was to do a history lesson of the UAAP, I believe two years ago, UST was like one or two wins that year. And those were the same guys that are now still playing, right? So, it was a growing pain they went through,” he said.
“There's steps you have to go through as a basketball player, as a coach, as a team in order to become a championship team.”
Tamaraws charge it to experience
Of course, drawing comparisons to the older Nic Cabañero-led Growling Tigers wouldn't necessarily be accurate.
While that black-and-gold side only managed two wins in Season 86, Chambers and Co. notched five marks on the win column last season, even boasting of a Rookie of the Year in Veejay Pre and a Mythical selection in Mo Konateh.
Of course, the 'Pre-xit' threw a wrench into their grand plans, but the fact remains FEU has more than a few pieces to the puzzle.
Konateh is still alive and kicking, and emerging as his clear-cut running mate is sophomore guard Janrey Pasaol, norming 18.5 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds. Even Kirby Mongcopa found his groove early, posting 10 points and 6.3 rebounds and already starting.
“It’s about process, eh,” Pasaol chimed in. “Alam naman natin na ngayong season, lahat ng teams, marami silang graduating players. Tapos kami, nagsisimula pa lang kami.”
With that, while the Tamaraws have shown flashes of brilliance, their true breakthrough will come when their youth grows up.
Fortunately for them, Chambers will never get tired in preaching patience that one day, their promise will lead to the Promised Land.
“There are steps they're going through that you just can't avoid without going through some of this process. It is what it is, but we're going to always look at the positive mindset,” he said.
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