SEAN Chambers watched from the sidelines, as Ateneo wrestled with archrival La Salle to end eliminations in UAAP Season 88 - in its hands not only its own fate, but also Far Eastern University's.
The Tamaraws head coach nodded calmly at every Blue Eagle breakthrough, then held his head in dismay whenever the Green Archers responded and ultimately prevailed.
READ: Cortez shoots La Salle to Final Four while also shooing away Ateneo, FEU
After the final buzzer, Chambers quietly rose from his seat, exchanged greetings with La Salle officials who passed by, and made his way out of the arena with his cornerstone trio of Janrey Pasaol, Kirby Mongcopa, and Jedrick Daa in tow.
He later caught up with SPIN.ph, showing no hint of regret over how the chips fell, as Ateneo failed to deliver the result that would’ve forced a stepladder playoff for the No. 4 seed.
“Once again, we put ourselves in the conversation and hoped for the best,” he said.
“Congrats to La Salle, they played an amazing basketball game. It was a good game to watch. I wish all the Final Four teams good luck.”
FEU-ture is bright
From a disastrous 2-5 start in the first round, FEU stormed back by winning five of its next seven in a massive turnaround that saw the Tamaraws finish the tournament in fifth-place - just one rung short of the Final Four.
But next season, Chambers promises a different ending.
“To finish basically in fifth place is not bad for us as a young team,” he said.
“FEU should be in the Final Four next year.”
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