FOR Far Eastern University to keep its fighting chance for a Final Four spot, it first had to win ‘one of the most difficult games to coach and play.’
And it wasn’t a league powerhouse the Tamaraws had to overcome for their sixth win of UAAP Season 88.
In fact, it was a team that had nothing to lose.
FEU head coach Sean Chambers described their 84-77 victory over winless University of the East on Saturday as one of the toughest tests they’ve had to take, given the stark contrast in stakes for both teams at this point in the season.
READ: FEU ties bow on top of UE's second winless season in four years
As he put it, “Anybody who played the game, who coached the game, would know that that is one of the most difficult games to coach and also play.”
“We got up by a big lead, but before halftime, they made a nice little run to cut it to 10.
“You go in the locker room and make sure you try and approach the guys. But we knew that it would probably be more tight in the second half, and that’s where we started to show our maturity from our previous games.”
Now level with Adamson for fifth place at 6-7, the Morayta ballers figure a wide-open finish with multiple ties possible by season’s end.
FEU-ture is now
Early on, it seemed like a long shot after the Tamaraws to even be part of postseason conversations, opening their campaign at 1-5.
But as Chambers puts it, even through a rocky start, ‘yes, I absolutely believed.’
“We just continued to battle in practice. We kept believing that we had a chance and we could still make things better, and now, we’ve put ourselves in a position where we have a chance. Who would’ve thought, right?" he said.
“We’re in a situation where we have a chance to play for the Final Four with such a young team.”
The green-and-gold will continue to fight for the right to advance to the next round against University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday.
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