MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles usually embody their famous mantra of "heart strong," but on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena, even they were amazed at the display of heart by Far Eastern University's (FEU) Remy Palma.

The Lady Eagles downed the Lady Tamaraws in four sets, 25-22, 25-10, 16-25, 26-24, to advance to the UAAP Season 79 Finals, but not before Palma and the rest of FEU pushed them to the brink.

Ateneo already had a two-set lead, but Palma conspired with Bernadeth Pons to power FEU to a ferocious come back in the third set, then hung tough with the Lady Eagles in the final stretch of the fourth before finally fading away.

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"We had a really hard time receiving. Their serves were really hard, especially Palma's," Ateneo's Bea de Leon said after the game. "We were up by like seven points, and they caught up to tie the game. It was really hard for us."

The Lady Eagles regained their composure in the end game, however, reaching match point on an attack error by Heather Guino-o, before Michelle Morente got the winning point through the FEU blockers.

It was a painful, emotional loss for Palma, who had to watch the final rallies of the match from the service box, unable to do much more than cheer and yell out instructions.

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After the game, the Lady Eagles made it a point to show their respect to the FEU captain, who was in tears even as members of the Ateneo team hugged her in the middle of the court.

"Kung may masasabihan akong may puso sa larong ito, si Palma ang may pinakamalaking puso kanina," said Ateneo captain Jia Morado. "Gustong-gusto niyang manalo, kitang-kita."

"Kaya noong after ng game talaga, naramdaman ko 'yung iyak niya," she added.

[Palma played with the biggest heart. She really wanted to win.]

"Sobrang galing niya [She was superb in this game]," added Michelle Morente.

For Palma, the words of admiration and praise from the Lady Eagles offered a measure of comfort.

"Nakaka-overwhelm na ganoon pala ang tingin nila sa akin, kahit na minsan, iniinis ko sila at naiinis sila sa akin," she said.

[It's overwhelming to know that they respect me like that, even though sometimes I annoy them.]

Palma is known to engage in trash talk and psy-wars with her opponents, and the Lady Eagles were no exception. She memorably smirked at Ateneo middle blocker Maddie Madayag across the net when they met in the second round of the eliminations, and in their Final 4 game, she stared down De Leon after a crucial point.

Yet it has never been personal for Palma, who is the first to shake hands with opponents after games, whether they win or lose.

"After ng game, wala naman 'yun," she explained. "On court lang naman 'yun. Once na natapos, andoon pa rin 'yung respeto at sportsmanship. Magkakaibigan din naman kami outside the court."

"Kailangan lang tanggapin namin na nanalo sila," she added. "Good luck sa Finals."

[Once the game is over, we respect each other. We're friends. We just have to accept that they won the game. I wish them luck in the Finals.]

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