FEU stays alive, faces twice-to-beat NU in UAAP men’s volley semis

MANILA, Philippines－The Far Eastern University reigned supreme in a win-or-go home stepladder semifinal showdown, eliminating fourth seed University of Santo Tomas in 3 hard-fought sets, 25-22, 27-25, 25-18, in the 79th UAAP men’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan on Wednesday, April 19.

Following a steady start, the Tamaraws came firing in the middle of the opening set as they rattled off 7 unanswered points to go up 21-18 against their foes. The cushion helped stave off an attempted rally by UST, and they were also able to neutralize 12 unforced errors by dominating in the attacks department, 12-6.

The Tigers continued to raise a challenge in the second by crawling away from a 22-24 hole to force a tiebreaker against the Tamaraws. Hounded by errors throughout the set, the España squad faced a heartbreaker after dropping the game through a miscue in reception.

FEU wiped away a 6-point deficit in the 3rd set as the team pulled away with a sweep to move on to the next round of the stepladder.

The third seed Tamaraws, who obtained an 8-6 slate to finish the preliminaries, found a hero in veteran Greg Dolor, who dished out 13 points on 10 attacks and 3 service aces to land the Player of the Game distinction.

“Masayang-masaya, kasi nagbunga ang pinaghirapan namin,” said Dolor after the game. “Last playing year ko na po ngayon. Gusto ko ‘pag exit ko [sa UAAP], maganda ang nangyari.”

([We’re] very happy, because our hard work has paid off. This is my last playing year, I hope to leave UAAP on a good note.)

Jude Garcia added 12 for FEU, while the Tigers banked on skipper Arnold Bautista, who also put up a 12-point performance.

FEU will face twice-to-beat National University in the next semis phase on Sunday, April 23.

The victor of the following duel will look to uncrown reigning champs Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles, who have meanwhile gained outright Finals berth after a 14-0 elimination round sweep. – Rappler.com