Tamaraws brace for rematch vs. Parks and NU
The Far Eastern University Tamaraws lost their first game of the season to the National University Bulldogs, a 57-61 defeat last August 2 that snapped their four-game winning streak, and will either avenge of justify their loss for the first round of UAAP Season 75 as they play with them again in the second round of eliminations this Sunday.
I had a little talk/interview with Assistant Coach Richie Ticzon about their grudge match against NU. Excerpts:
What can you say about that first-round game against NU?
"We had a good game plan against the Bulldogs last game, we tried to limit si Parks sa scoring pero puro kasi siya free throws eh. I think may 16 or 17 points pero 14 of those came from the free throws so dapat ma-limit lang namin ung fouls namin sakanya apart from that I think he only had one field goal so kailangan lang namin ingatan ung fouls but I think we did a good plan naman."
What is the mood of the FEU Tamaraws knowing that on Sunday, either they will avenge or justify their defeat?
"Siguro mas motivated kami ngayon, natalo nga kami nung first round pero we have to get back at them. Kailangan namin pagigihan mabuti.
How are the Tams preparing for the game this Sunday?
"Offensively okay kami, naiikot namin ang bola ng tama, nakatira naman kami ng decent shots, medyo marami lang din kameng na-miss na opportunities in transition and free attempts, pero hopefully by next game, by Sunday's game, gumanda ang shooting namin kasi malakas din ang NU so kailangan talaga namin tapatan ung scoring power nila."
What's your strategy for containing Parks?
"Mahirap magsabi kasi baka, alam mo na. (smiles). Yeah, I'll just generalize, number one scorer nila is Bobby Parks, so kailangan namin i-contain si Parks, try to limit his scoring. And also, natalo kami sa offensive rebounds nung last game so iyun yung mga i-aadjust namin for the upcoming game."
Coach Richie and the rest of the FEU Tamaraws coaching staff are optimistic heading into Sunday's match, eying their eighth win of the season to keep their hold of second place. But with Arvie Bringas serving out a two-game suspension, the Tams may have a slight change of game plan for the next two consecutive games. Overall, according to the coaching staff and the players themselves, they're ready for the last few matches for the second round of eliminations.
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
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