Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws took on the last leg of the eliminations round by rising to third place entering the Final Four in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 beach volleyball tournament last November 27 at the Mall of Asia Beach Volleyball Sandcourt in Pasay City.

The Morayta-based sand team claimed their last win of the eliminations round in a tie-breaker match against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles on a narrow win, 23-21, 21-19.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, men’s Team Captain Vincent Nadera expressed his gratitude towards the people who helped them achieve this milestone.

“Laki ng pasasalamat namin kasi last season, pangalawa kami sa panghuli so grabe ‘yung pasalamat namin sa Diyos, [sa] coaches namin, sa ginalaw namin na nakita namin ‘yung progress (We are very grateful because last season, we finished second to the last so we are thankful to God, [to] our coaches, for the way we played that we saw the progress),” Nadera said.

The green-and-gold sand spikers entered the semifinals against second-seeded National University Bulldogs in the afternoon leg of the beach volleyball weekend.

FEU then bowed down to the Bulldogs in straight sets after a combination of strong attacks and services, 16-21, 20-22.

During the post-game interview, FEU Head Coach Jeremiah Barrica mentioned that he saw a positive light to the loss after alternate player Jelord Talisayan stepped up for injured second player Martin Bugaoan.

“Maganda ‘yung performance kasi kahit may mga bagay na nangyari na hindi inaasahan, nainjury si number 2 [who is] si Teng natapilok, nandoon naman si Jelord para pagtakpan ‘yung pagkukulang (Their performance was good even after unexpected things happened, number 2 got injured [who is] Teng tripped, Jelord was there to step up for the shortcoming),” Barrica stated in an interview with FEU Advocate.

The Tamaraws will brave the battle for the third finals game day on November 29 at the same venue.

-Angel Joyce C. Basa

(Photo by Ralph Mari Castro/FEU Advocate)