THERE is no reason for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws to think that the series is over just because they won Game 1 of the Finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines by a comfortable margin, 75-64 against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.
FEU coach Nash Racela said he continues to remind the Tamaraws that if they play too confident and too complacent, the Growling Tigers can come back and tie the series, which is something that they don’t want to happen.
“We have a win. But, it’s not over. We need another one,” said Racela, as the Tamaraws prepare for their Game 2 showdown set at 3:30 p.m. today at the Araneta Coliseum.
Racela said there is absolutely no room for complacency since things could easily turn around, a lesson which they learned from their heartbreaking loss to the National University Bulldogs in the finals last season.
“We expect them (Tigers) to come back strong. We learned our lesson from last year,” added Racela.
In the finals against the Bulldogs, the Tamaraws took Game 1, only to lose the next two games and the title to NU, which won a UAAP title after 60 years.
“We lost that (against the Bulldogs) series. We’re hoping that this will be a good reminder for us,” added Racela.
The Tamaraws are eyeing to pocket its first crown in nearly a decade and their 20th overall. FEU has the most number of league titles with 19, followed by UST and University of the East with 18 each.
But UST’s top gun and skipper Kevin Ferrer said they need to get back big, even as he rued the Tigers losing the rebounding battle against the Tamaraws.
“Ito (rebounds) ang strength ng FEU. Natalo kami sa rebounds. Iwo-work out namin ito,” stated Ferrer.
Ferrer added that their coach, Bong De la Cruz, had said that they need to keep FEU from controlling the boards again.
Game today
(Game 2, Finals)
3:30 p.m. — FEU vs UST