UST vows to learn from FEU stunner

MANILA, Philippines – The UST Golden Tigresses are trying to look at the bright side as they suffered a surprising five-set loss against the FEU Lady Tamaraws for just their second defeat in UAAP Season 86 on Saturday night.

Still among the top teams in the league with their 10-2 slate, head coach Kung Fu Reyes said that they can take the lessons learned from the heartbreaking loss.

“Yun ang pinakamaganda. We're not losing the game, we're learning from it,” he said after the game. 

“Yun ang [sinasabi] namin sa mga bata na 'you just play the game' kasi andoon na yung pressure eh kasi nga ang ganda na ng start… Yun ang bilin namin sa kanila just look up straight, chin up. Natalo tayo pero yung takeaways naman, yung learning, yun naman ang dadalhin natin,” he continued.

Among the shortcomings that the España-based squad will be keen to recover from is how they take care of the ball. Against FEU, UST gave away a whopping 36 points on errors which helped the Morayta squad clinch their spot in the Final Four.

But mistakes committed aside, Reyes wants to remind his players to continue what they’ve been doing for the whole season long.

“[We’re telling the players] tingin ka lang sa harapan mo kung anong meron tayo and then move forward,” said Reyes. 

“[T]alagang ini-embrace namin to na kailangang mag push pa, i-improve pa, more experience para dun sa mga young guns namin na syempre hindi naman namin pwede ipako sa krus yung mga yan dahil natalo. No. Part pa rin ng process na to na bilang isang 'no expectation' hanggang sa nagkaroon. Yan yung magandang babaunin namin this time.”

Two games remain for UST before the end of eliminations, with the twice-to-beat semis advantage still up in the air, there is still everything to play for the Golden Tigresses with the Final Four cast set.

After being sent crashing back to earth, the Tigresses begin their road to recovery when they face the UE Lady Warriors on Sunday, April 21, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.