They’re no heartbreak kids
- Close calls and all, Sean Chambers says young Tamaraws are notching UAAP victories a different way
Anyone who has watched Far Eastern University’s games so far this season would agree that the Tamaraws could have easily been sporting a 4-1 win-loss record at this point of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
Instead, they are 0-5, with a string of stinging setbacks in their wake.
The latest heartbreak of those heartbreaks was a 68-62 defeat on Wednesday, which served to highlight how the breaks have gone against FEU this season.
“Yes, we let a couple of games get by us because that was a sign of youth but today was the day when I felt [that] we started turning [things] around when we started seeing ourselves being successful,” coach Sean Chambers told the Inquirer. “I know we had La Salle on the ropes but we’re just gonna go from that.”
Here’s a quick recap on those games that the Tamaraws allowed to “get by” them:
In Far Eastern’s opening game against Adamson, the Tams squandered a strong 14-7 start and a 25-21 lead at the half en route to a 59-47 defeat to the Falcons.
It was the same story against National University as the Bulldogs needed a late 15-0 run to overhaul a 13-point Tamaraws lead in the fourth quarter. And even then, Janrey Pasaol had the opportunity to win the game for FEU but missed his three charities at the end of a 62-60 loss.
Against University of the East, FEU held a 10-point lead late in the third but could not stop Ethan Galang from bailing out the Red Warriors, 56-51.
Cursed?
No, said Chambers. Just young.
“Personally, I think it’s to be expected. I am not surprised by it because we’re playing five freshmen, nobody else is,” Chambers said. “So if anybody would’ve thought differently, didn’t think this was how we’re gonna start the season off, it would not be real because we don’t have any upperclassmen from last year.”
“We don’t have any guide that started for the team last year so you’re starting five freshmen who had never been on this stage and everybody else does,” he added.
Chambers’ young squad stood toe-to-toe with La Salle and even led in the fourth quarter.
But a layup by Earl Abadam ended the nip-and-tuck start to the fourth quarter, 59-56, as La Salle slowly widened its lead. Mike Phillips scored the finishing touches of the Archers’ fourth victory in five starts.
The only team that beat FEU conclusively was University of the Philippines (69-58).
“We don’t have a KQ (La Salle’s Kevin Quiambao), we don’t have a [Francis] Lopez or JD [Cagulangan, both of the Fighting Maroons]. These guys (Tamaraws), this is their first go round,” Chambers said.
Eight of Chambers’ 16 players are freshmen, including go-to guys Mohamed Konateh, Veejay Pre, Adam Nakai and Jedric Daa. The other freshmen include Jayden Jones, Clifford Taboctaboc, Nicholas Duque and Malachi Book.
The holdovers are Cedrickh Ona, Cholo Añonuevo, Aeron Bagunu, Rojan Montemayor, graduating Royce Alforque, Jorick Bautista and Pasaol.
That’s why Chambers has tempered expectations for the season: Improve on FEU’s three wins last season.
“We’re gonna see the benefits happen later, we know that. We’ll see the benefits later this year and for sure next year,” Chambers said. “Imagine those guys returning next year with a year under their belt, they’ll be so comfortable, ready to take off, that’s what we’re doing. We know we’re building for the future. We just wanna speed the process but you gotta let the process happen.”
“The beauty about young kids is that they don’t know any different, right? This is all new to them. The beauty of having freshmen is like they come to practice the next day and they’re like ‘Hey we’re playing basketball, who has it better than us? We’re playing in Araneta Coliseum against La Salle.’”
Chambers does admit to feeling frustration with how their campaign has been going.
“I don’t like losing but I also know it’s my job to protect the kids so I know our fan base wants us to win right now and I am just telling them to be patient … that’s part of the process, right?” the former PBA import said. “I knew … it was gonna take some time to get us there. These guys are gonna be the one that’s returning and to my court they will dominate this league, in the next four years. It’s a process.”
So he continues to count wins in a different way for now.
“You didn’t expect us to win, nobody expected us to win, right? So we’re just playing basketball and so whatever we can gain from this every day, that’s a point for us so this is a win for us,” Chambers said. INQ
