MANILA, Philippines — The Far Eastern University Tamaraws are moving on following the departure of young star Veejay Pre.
Pre on Wednesday announced that he will be leaving FEU after just one season with the team.
On Thursday, the Tamaraws had a taste of what things would look like without the reigning UAAP Rookie of the Year and defeated the University of the East Red Warriors, 74-57, in the FilOil EcoOil preseason tournament.
After the game, FEU head coach Sean Chambers said that with the Pre saga done for now, everyone “needs to move on”.
“We all love Veejay. Veejay loves us. He sent me a text message and he said… ‘I love you so much’,” he told reporters after the win.
“It’s a very unique situation. We love him. He’s a kid and I think as adults, eventually we need to stop talking about it and let it go about its way,” he added.
“Step up. Next man up. Veejay is our family. This is their brother, and we’re going to support him. It’s not what we want, but… next man up. It is what it is.”
Pre, in his statement, said that he and his family came to a decision leave the Morayta-based squad after one season.
“God bless Veejay. He sent me an amazing message. I love that kid like he’s my own son, but at the end of the day, I will never tell a family what not to do with their own kid, ever,” Chambers stressed.
“And it’s unfortunately, I’ve seen the UAAP since 1987, I’ve never seen a situation like this where it was a kid that was torn between the love of his school and what to do right by the family,” he added.
The clear-cut top rookie last season, Pre averaged 13.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14 games in the eliminations. With him anchoring the team’s offense, FEU almost made the Final Four with a 5-9 record.
Chambers also said that he is wishing the 19-year-old the best moving forward.
“I wish them all the best. I really do. I really do. And we are going to make our kids better. Like, we’ll find a way.”
With Pre now officially departing the team, the squad will now have a next-man-up mentality.
“Sa akin lang, hindi kami nagpapa-apekto dahil hindi naman namin control yung mga ganung bagay. Nag-focus lang kami sa team namin, kung anong meron kami, and i-work on namin,” said Jorick Bautista, who had 18 points, four rebounds and two assists in the game.
“Unti-unti naming ifi-fill yung sapatos na nawala sa amin, which is malaking bagay. Step up, next man up,” he added.
For now, Pre’s new team is yet to be announced. If the player will join another UAAP team, he will have to sit out a year and lose two years of eligibility.
In other FilOil preseason games, the Benilde Blazers kept the Arellano Chiefs at bay, 79-73; Mapua defeated Lyceum, 71-63; and the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers squeaked past the National University Bulldogs, 75-71.
