The Far Eastern University Tamaraws relished the rise of Philippine men’s volleyball as they are raring to gain from the top club teams in the country in the Spikers’ Turf.
For the second straight year, FEU ruled the V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge after sweeping La Salle, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23, in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Finals MVP Dryx Saavedra and the Tamaraws are looking forward to another Spikers’ Turf Invitational stint, especially now that men’s volleyball in the country is on the rise after the Philippines’ historic hosting and good showing in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
‘I’m super excited, even though the V-League isn’t over yet, I’m already looking forward to Spikers’ Turf. We struggled at one point, and we were worried we wouldn’t even get to play there,’ said Saavedra in Filipino. ‘We don’t want to just train and train, we want to compete with the older players too and learn from them. And for sure, we’ll learn a lot.’
Saavedra savored their second straight V-League championship after completing a series comeback despite losing the finals opener.
FEU’s second title will be an added inspiration to them to bounce back in a heartbreaking Game 3 loss to UAAP ‘five-peat’ champion National University in Season 87 in front of 14,517 people – the second most-watched men’s volleyball game in the country after the FIVB final’s gate attendance. ‘This is a new opportunity for us, and we’re definitely taking it as motivation for the next league and the upcoming UAAP season. We’ve learned so much from this V-League,’ Saavedra said. ‘We still need to talk about the lapses we had, and for the next league, we’ll do our best so we don’t repeat the same mistakes.’
FEU coach Eddieson Orcullo said they will slow things down a bit in the Spikers’ Turf before gradually building up in the tournament to take care of their health.
It’s an honor for Orcullo to be the coach of the Tamaraws, as Philippine men’s volleyball continues to rise.
‘I’m excited because I feel lucky to be working with them at just the right time. It makes me want to give even more to this job I love. When you love what you do, you give your all and I think that’s why I’m this happy. Everyone I’m working with, even the coaches, we’re all on the same page. There are a few disagreements here and there, but it’s all for the good of the team,’ he said.