MANILA, Philippines – Despite a slow start to the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, the FEU Tamaraws showed how their young crew could soon be a league threat.
“Our growth and the way that we continue to battle and fight and get better [made me proud],” said FEU head coach Sean Chambers.
“At the end of this second round, I honestly felt, or do feel, we’re one of the best four teams in the league right now,” the first-year mentor added.
“Unfortunately, we’re not as prepared as we could have been in the first round. So we’re basically scrambling for the missed halves in the first round. But right now, we’re executing, we’re running great offense, we’re defending, we’re playing tough.”
Languishing at the bottom with a 1-6 card after the first seven games, the Tamaraws pulled off a surprise turnaround in the second half of the eliminations, winning four out of seven games — and, at one point, staying in contention for the last Final Four spot — for a more respectable 5-9 record.
The Tamaraws, who notably did not lose by more than 12 points all season, paraded several rookies led by Rookie of the Year frontrunner Veejay Pre, foreign student-athlete Mo Konateh, and Janrey Pasaol.
Pre, a stretch big, led the team in scoring, putting up 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, highlighted by a season-best 31-point outburst against UST.
Konateh is not too far behind at third with 10.2 points per game and a league-leading 16.7 rebounds per contest.
Pasaol, younger brother of Meralco swingman Alvin Pasaol, also delivered averages of 8.5 points, 4.1 boards, and 3.1 assists.
Graduating co-captain Royce Alforque said he’s confident his young teammates can pick up where they left off as the Tamaraws wrap up their season.
“I am happy with the results even though we did not get our desired goals,” the guard said in Filipino.
“We saw the improvement of the team from last season, the future is bright for this team,” added Alforque, who missed several games this season due to a leg injury.
Chambers also praise Alforque, a homegrown FEU player, for stepping up during uncertain times.
“I felt that Royce led by example, so I made him team captain,” said the former standout PBA import with Alaska.
“Royce has a great demeanor, he’s very receptive, but personally, [I think] Royce is actually better than what he is showing right now.”
As the Tamaraws head to the off-season, Chambers plans to bring 10 of his players to his hometown in Sacramento, California for a two-week training camp.
“Nothing’s guaranteed, but anybody looking from the outside, they’re already going, ‘FEU’s going to be a problem next year.’ And we know that,” said Chambers. – Rappler.com