THERE'S no sugarcoating anything anymore for Far Eastern University after its heartbreaking loss to Adamson in a crucial contest for both teams' Final Four bids.
READ: Nitura shows Adamson way past FEU, back into Final Four
Now, the Lady Tamaraws' playoff hopes hang by a thread - and it all comes down to a must-win clash with Ateneo.
For the team captain Gerz Petallo, the approach is simple: reset, recover, and respond.
“Though madami man nagsasabi na wala nang chance, kami as a team, paghihirapan pa rin namin kunin ‘yung chance even if it’s small,” she told the SPIN.ph.
That's all FEU can do now, as against Adamson, the skipper and her teammates just could not get anything going for an extended period of time.
“Hindi kami nakabawi agad. Parang nag-stuck kami sa isang place,” she said. “Pero ganun talaga ang volleyball, may talo, may panalo. It’s paano kami babalik sa talo na ‘yun.”
Petallo para sa panalo
As the lone double-digit scorer with 11 points, Petallo also owned the responsibility of keeping the Lady Tams together, especially in pressure situations.
“Kahit bago pa ako as a captain, I’ll always do my best. Kung magkamali man ako, babawi ako agad. Kailangan ko i-regroup yung team,” she said, of her mentality, personally, ahead of another must-win match.
“I’ll always do my best na maging magaan yung load nila sa court, para mas ma-express nila yung sarili nila.”
Now, the equation is simple yet unforgiving for the green-and-gold.
First and foremost, they must take care of business against the Blue Eagles then hope University of Santo Tomas loses one of its two assignments against the University of the Philippines and National U.
The path to the Final Four may no longer be paved by their own hands, but FEU's heart remains dead set on controlling what it control.
And heading to their last stand, that’s all the Lady Tamaraws can hold on to.
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