THE pressure to win in the UAAP is incomparable to any other sporting event Sean Chambers has either been part of or closely followed.
Far Eastern University’s veteran mentor, who’s seen it all as a player and a coach both in the Philippines and the U.S., explained the stark contrast in terms of competitive expectations for a league as fast and short like the UAAP compared to American athletic tournaments.
His focal point of comparison, albeit a different sport, was college football.
The U.S. NCAA Division I football season spans four months, ranging from August to December this year, with the National Championship slated in mid-January next year.
There, games are once a week - compared to the UAAP's almost-every other day schedule, making each and every one of the teams' 14 preliminary round matches all-important.
“I don’t know if you guys have watched or know anything about college football and the pressure to win at every level in college football,” Chambers started.
“But the UAAP pressure to win with [14] games is nowhere near anything I’ve ever seen in American sports. You have [14] games to try and show your worth and every game you lose becomes a little tight,” he ended.
Tamaraws get on the board
Some of that pressure was offloaded, even in the slightest, as the Tamaraws finally barged into the win column after a 0-3 start to Season 88.
READ: FEU gets on the board by gutting out triumph over Adamson
FEU fended off Adamson’s late rally, 64-58, on Sunday to get its campaign going once and for all after a string of close losses.
In Chambers’ view, what the Tams needed to break their slump was a timely reminder of their purpose for being on the court.
As he put it, “What we try to do is go back to practice, just work hard and make sure they understand that at the end of the day, this is still basketball.”
“We want to represent for our student body, we want to represent for our management, but at the end of the day, it’s still basketball."
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