UP, NU face critical games for last Final Four spot

MANILA, Philippines – With 3 of the 4 UAAP Final Four slots now occupied, the UP Lady Maroons and NU Lady Bulldogs face critical and challenging games over the next week to determine which team gets the final ticket to the next round of the Season 78 women’s volleyball tournament.

Thanks to a tightly-fought 4-set win over the Adamson Lady Falcons on Wednesday, April 6, the FEU Lady Tamaraws finished their elimination round with a 9-5 record, assuring them of the third seed in the Final Four.

The final rankings of Ateneo (11-2) and La Salle (10-2) have yet to be determined, but they are the top two teams and both have a twice-to-beat advantage.

The Lady Eagles and Lady Spikers, who have met in the UAAP Finals the past 4 years, will have their second-round matchup on Sunday, April 10.

If Ateneo avenges its first-round defeat to La Salle, Alyssa Valdez and company will finish as the top seed, while Mika Reyes and her crew will drop to second.

But if La Salle beats Ateneo on Sunday and wins its eliminations-ender against NU next Wednesday, April 13, it would finish with a 12-2 record and clinch the first seed, while Ateneo would drop to 11-3 and fall to number two. 

If the Lady Spikers beat the Lady Eagles but fall to the Lady Bulldogs (NU beat DLSU in round one), both La Salle and Ateneo will finish with identical 11-3 records, and the tie-breaker will be determined by quotient.

Whoever lands as number two will face the third-seeded Lady Tamaraws, who will have to win twice in order to advance. So far, this season, FEU is a combined 0-4 against La Salle and Ateneo, and 9-1 against everyone else.

UP’s final game of the elimination round takes place on Sunday against the already-eliminated UST Tigresses (5-8). A win for the Lady Maroons gives them an 8-6 record and puts pressure on NU (7-6) to beat La Salle in order to force a playoff (a do-or-die game) for who gets the fourth seed.

If UP falls to UST and NU beats La Salle, then the Lady Bulldogs will automatically get the last Final Four spot. If both UP and NU lose their remaining games and finish the eliminations with similar 7-7 records, then a playoff will take place to determine who challenges the top seed in the Final Four.

So far, this season, NU is 0-2 against Ateneo and 1-0 against La Salle. UP is 1-1 against the Lady Eagles and 0-2 against the Lady Spikers. – Rappler.com