FAR EASTERN University coach Sean Chambers said the team has moved forward from the transfer of Veejay Pre to University of the Philippines, seeing that other players are now stepping to the plate to fill the void left by their former teammate.
Chambers said the players have been responding to his call of turning change into something positive for the team as shown in their ability to complement the likes of Janrey Pasaol, Jorick Bautista, and Jedric Daa during the Tamaraws’ preseason build-up.
READ: FEU's post-Pre prospects all begin with captain Jorick Bautista
“We change, you work harder,” Chambers said on Monday on the sidelines of The Champions Class coaching clinic at The Bellevue in Alabang, Muntinlupa. “But I think we will use it as a blessing in disguise.”
“Since then, we have seen tremendous production from Luke Felipe, from Aeron (Bagunu), from (Miguel) Ona, from Kirby (Mongcopa). Like, we’ve really got into the gym and made the kids better,” said Chambers, whose team remains unbeaten after two games in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup.
Pre has moved to University of the Philippines following the 2024 UAAP season that saw him capture the Rookie of the Year honors for Far Eastern University. He was also part of the FEU-Diliman high school program.
Chambers said the holdovers may have a different response to the preseason build-up with Pre, who was expected to play a larger role for the Tamaraws after placing sixth in the UAAP Season 87 wars with a 5-9 win-loss record, four of the victories coming in the second round.
“Change makes you work harder. We could have come in and just like ‘Man, we have Veejay.’ If Veejay came back, we had 90 percent of our returning offense, with the kids that were rookies last year. We would have been returning. We felt like we were returning and means an all-star line-up," he said.
“Now, we probably would have not worked as hard. I don’t know. I’m just saying hypothetically. But with that, I know we are getting after it now for sure. That’s the beauty of the change, to see all the other players step up to the plate,” he added.
Even with the transfer, Chambers said the team still has high regards for Pre for what he contributed to FEU and his feelings towards his stay with the Tamaraws.
“I’m glad that everybody took my message like ‘Hey, let’s move forward’ because at the end of the day, we were all adults, discussing that the kid is 19. That was heartbreaking to his school, and his love for his teammates, and his love for his environment that he had at FEU and the coaching staff," he shared.
“But at the end of the day, it was a family decision and he had to do what he felt was right for his family. And so, we still love him. We will always love him," he continued.
"He is an amazing kid. But I just think it was time for us to all move into a different direction so we can basically save Veejay from all the non-sense."
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