Fil-Kiwi cager Ken Tuffin will play a bigger role for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.
Tuffin will be take the role of team skipper of the Olsen Racela-coach squad that is looking forward to another Final Four finish, if not another championship appearance.
Last season, the Tamaraws made it to the Final Four, but lost the championship slot to Ateneo.
Tuffin is expected to provide leadership to a team that lost veterans Richard Escoto, Alex Inigo, Arvin Tolentino, Jasper Parker, and reliable big man Prince Orizu.
All five have graduated.
Three other senior players, Hubert Cani, Wendell Comboy and Barkley Ebona will be there to play important supporting roles.
And Racela is calling for the senior players to step up and provide collective leadership for the team.
The Tamaraws come into the season with high confidence after a successful preseason preparation.
This includes a title conquest in the 2019 DLive Summer Tournament in Taiwan.
This squad will have rookies Travis Mantua, Emman Ojuola or Patrick Tchuente, and Xyrus Torres to lean on.
The school is still deciding on the case of Ojuola and Tchuente as the replacement of Orizu.
Tchuente is a 6’10” Cameroonian, while Tchuente, is a 6’7” cager
FEU is expected to be back in the Final Four, after making it to the semifinals for the last six years.
