Under Sean Chambers’ leadership, the FEU Tamaraws continue to show promise in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Nobody expected the FEU Tamaraws to make it this far in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
After losing star forward Veejay Pre over the offseason, it looked like the Tamaraws went back to square one, often getting close to stealing a win, only to flame out in crunch time against their more experienced foes.
Yet despite all the doubts surrounding them, the Tamaraws continued to fight — something that didn’t go unnoticed for head coach Sean Chambers.
“To be honest, when we were 1-4, I told the guys that we were playing good basketball as compared to last year. And then when we got to two and three wins, I told them that we were overachieving,” Chambers said after FEU’s 81-79 win over the UST Growling Tigers to close out the eliminations on Wednesday.
Following a 2-5 start to Season 88, FEU turned things around by Round 2, thanks to the continued emergence of the Janrey Pasaol-Jorick Bautista backcourt, big man Mo Konateh, and rookie forward Kirby Mongcopa.
Under their leadership, the Tamaraws finished the final round of eliminations with a 7-7 record, even scoring an upset over the Green Archers, and holding on tight to keep their Final Four aspirations alive against the Growling Tigers.
“When we got to five wins and six wins, I was like we were doing good things right nowI was happy with the whole progression of this season and embracing every game, every part of it,” Chambers reflected, with the Tamaraws compiling a 5-2 record for Round 2.
For the second-year head coach, FEU’s resurgence is the product of their fighting spirit, as they stayed the course even if Season 88 seemed like another lost year.
“If you get close enough, it’s just the way that we continue to practice. We continue to practice hard, nobody checked out, and even [before facing UST] , we had a high energy practice,” Chambers reflected.
“We showed a video of some of the games we’ve already played, and all the excitement, the smiling faces, the love for one another, and this is why we play.”
This is why regardless on even if FEU missed the Final Four, Chambers considers this season a success, having seen his squad grow through experience and become a legitimate threat against top squads.
“None of you guys saw the hype video that we posted, but we’ve been doing that everyday, every practice the last week or so. Everyone has to get in the middle and hype each other up; it’s been really fun too, and I’m really happy with this season, extremely.”
With the promise they showed for Season 88, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Tamaraws make a return to the Final Four by next year.
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.