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| c/o UAAP Media Team |
Games on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre
9 a.m. - UP vs NU (Men)
11 a.m. - UP vs NU (Women)
3 p.m. - UE vs FEU (Men)
5 p.m. - UE vs FEU (Women)
Far Eastern University reaffirmed its dominance over University of Santo Tomas, capping it off with a thrilling come-from-behind fourth set to take a 25-22, 26-24, 17-25, 26-24 victory to complete a season sweep of the Golden Tigresses in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
With their backs against the wall in the fourth set, the Lady Tamaraws roared back from a six-point deficit to snatch the victory, forcing a tie at third place at 503 with the Golden Tigresses, who dropped to back-to-back losses.
FEU’s latest triumph cemented its mastery over UST this season after also securing a four-set victory in the first round, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14, 25-20. The Lady Tamaraws now hold the tiebreaker in the standings.
FEU's win opened a two-game lead over Adamson, Ateneo and University of the Philippines in the race for the last Final Four slot.
It was FEU’s first head-to-head sweep against UST since Season 80 (2018) when the Lady Tamaraws were still led by Bernadeth Pons, Gel Cayuna, and Cza Carandang.
“Mataas ‘yung expectation ko talaga kasi binibigyan ko na sila ng bigger responsibility this second round. ‘Yung expectations din namin kasi masyado na ring mataas ‘yung at stake regarding sa positioning ng teams so hopefully magandang start ito for the second round and looking forward for more,” said FEU head coach Tina Salak after the two-hour, 20-minute battle.
("My expectations are really high because I'm giving them bigger responsibilities in this second round. Our expectations are also high since there's a lot at stake in terms of team positioning. Hopefully, this is a good start for the second round, and we're looking forward to more.")
With the Golden Tigresses ahead 16-10 in the fourth and were threatening to force a decider, Gerzel Petallo willed the Lady Tamaraws back in the game.
Petallo unleashed four straight points for FEU to give their side a 20-19 advantage but UST did not back down easily.
An attack error by Faida Bakanke pushed the Tigresses at set point, 24-23, but timely hits lifted the Lady Tamaraws.
Chenie Tagaod, cold off the bench, scored her lone point of the match with a drop ball to tie the game while Mitzi Panangin served her lone ace of the match to give the Lady Tamaraws the match point. Jean Asis then punctuated the crucial win with a solid denial of Regina Jurado’s attack.
“Proud po ako sa team namin sa effort po talaga na binigay kasi gusto po talaga namin manalo, yun po yung una po naming ginawa, ginusto po talaga namin manalo,” said the clutch Petallo, who ended up with 12 points and 15 digs.
("I'm proud of our team for the effort we gave because we really wanted to win. That was the first thing we did—we truly wanted to win.")
Congolese opposite spiker Bakanke delivered her best game this season with 22 points on 18 spikes, two aces, and two blocks while Jazlyn Ellarina, who was inserted in the starting lineup, impressed with 12 points as well.
FEU aims to ride its momentum when it faces winless University of the East on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Jurado paced skidding UST with 20 points and 15 digs while surprise starter Maribeth Hilongo, who replaced Marga Altea in the first six, unloaded a career-game of 17 points, nine receptions, and 11 digs.
Season 86 Rookie of the Year Angge Poyos was held to 14 points on 14-of-53 attack efficiency while also tallying 19 digs and 16 receptions.
The Golden Tigresses now look to bounce back on Saturday against De La Salle University at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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