Tams overachieve – Racela
Fallen Far Eastern U won’t look back in anger but take solace in the thought it has come within 14 seconds of reaching the UAAP Finals.
The Tamaraws blew their chance to complete a reversal against top seed Ateneo in the nerve-wracking Final Fur door-die showdown.
The No. 4 seed Tams came tantalizingly close to the Last Dance but their inability to protect a three-point lead in the last 14 seconds of regulation ultimately led to their doom, 84-88, sending the Eagles to the championship against the La Salle Green Archers instead.
“A few weeks ago, we almost didn’t make the Final Four, now we were one stop from making it to the finals; so that’s a big achievement,” said FEU’s first-year coach Olsen Racela.
The beginning of the end came when the Tams failed to stop Isaac Go from making the game-tying three with 8.5 seconds left in regulation. The FEU cagers botched the succeeding offensive as well, with Arvin Tolentino failing to even launch a decent attempt at the buzzer, and giving Ateneo the chance to steal it all in the extra period.
“I’m still proud of the way we grew this season and I’m really looking forward to next year. After one year with these guys, I’m really excited for the things we can do next year,” said Racela, whose squad will only lose three mainstays to graduation in Ron Dennison, Prince Orizu and Jojo Trinidad.
Dennison, who has served as the team’s leader the entire season, expressed belief he’ll be leaving the FEU fold in good hands. “Sigurado next year, isang magandang year sa FEU, alam kong sobrang solid nila lalo na doon sa pinagdaanan namin this year. Ang dami nilang seniors next year at tiwalang tiwala ako na babawi sila, lalo na kay coach Olsen na bibigay talaga
ang lahat para mag finals ang FEU (I believe it will be a good season for FEU. They’ll be solid and wiser from our experiences this year and I have complete faith in them, especially coach Racela, that they will bounce back and do everything to succeed),” said Dennison.