Tams face uphill battle in title repeat

MANILA, Philippines - Champion coach Nash Racela of Far Eastern U acknowledged the fierce challenge his Tamaraws are bound to face in their UAAP title defense next year, especially with the arrival of topnotch mentors and the massive buildup of their challengers.

“I think Ateneo and La Salle will be strong; NU will be tough; UE will have an intact core and so does Adamson so it’s going to be hard for us next year,” said Racela.

The Tams captured their first crown since 2005 with a pulsating 2-1 series victory over University of Santo Tomas. But key players led by Season 78 Finals MVP Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia, Roger Pogoy, and Russel Escoto have already maxed out their playing years and left huge shoes to fill in their quest for back-to-back.

Racela, though, is confident holdovers like Raymar Jose and Richard Escoto as well as their new recruits will embrace their bigger responsibility for the team.

To prep up the young guns for Season 79, the Tams let them have their day in the recent National Collegiate Championship. Second stringer Fil-Norwegian Ken Holmqvist stood out and even won the MVP plum as the Tams shared top honors with San Beda.

Holmqvist and Co., according to Racela, will carry the cudgels for FEU in pre-season tournaments like the Fr. Martin Cup and Got Skills. The Tams will also play under the Phoenix banner in the PBA D-League.

“That has been the philosophy since last year. After the UAAP last year, the graduates didn’t play anymore and the holdovers took their place in the pre-season. That helped guys like Prince Orizu and Joe Trinidad when the UAAP came,” said Racela.

While FEU has not warmed up on its throne, other teams started to call in reinforcements. High-profile coaches Tab Baldwin (Ateneo), Aldin Ayo (La Salle) and Franz Pumaren (Adamson) were tapped to take the reins of their respective universities – a development welcomed by Racela.

“It will be interesting,” said Racela, anticipating his coaching match-ups with the trio.

“When you get supposedly the best, it helps the league improve. That’s the way we look at it. But not only us, they will also improve, for sure,” he added.

FEU athletic director Mark Molina expressed confidence despite the departure of Belo and Co., the Tams will be competitive in 2016.

“Si Coach Nash may system, and the system is not dependent on one player. In fact, talagang may (it utilizes) ball movement and we use our bench extensively. And we have a very talented group of players from our Team B, from our farm team; we feel pwede silang palitan (they’re capable of filling up the slack),” said Molina.