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| c/o UAAP Media Team |
UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Volleyball Standings
Women
NU 6 0
UST 5 1
DLSU 4 2
FEU 4 2
AdU 2 4
UP 2 4
Ateneo 1 5
UE 0 6
Men
FEU 6 0
NU 5 1
UST 4 2
DLSU 4 2
Ateneo 3 3
AdU 1 5
UP 1 5
UE 0 6
Games Saturday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum
9 a.m. – Ateneo vs UE (Men)
11 a.m. – FEU vs DLSU (Men)
1 p.m. – Ateneo vs UE (Women)
3 p.m. – FEU vs DLSU (Women)
DE LA SALLE and Far Eastern University, aiming for a better ranking at the end of first round, dispute solo third spot today (Saturday) in the UAAP Season 87 Women's Volleyball Tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Both sporting 4-2 records, the Lady Spikers and the Tamaraws are going all out in the 3 p.m. match as the winner will keep within reach of the pacesetters.
Defending champion National University (6-0) and University of Santo Tomas (5-1) clash in a rematch of last season's Finals Sunday at the Big Dome.
Ateneo and University of the East, mired at the bottom of the standings with 1-5 and 0-6 records, try to close out their challenging first round campaigns on a high note at 1 p.m.
After losing two of their first three matches to open the season, De La Salle and FEU were able to remain in the upper half of the standings.
The Lady Spikers were able to pick up three straight victories with the league's third-leading scorer Angel Canino and Shevana Laput leading the charge.
Despite the short turnaround after last Wednesday's 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19 conquest of Ateneo, De La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus is looking forward for an ideal preparation for its first round finale.
Well rested after playing a stretch of three matches in one week, the Lady Tamaraws were perfect during that span that tested their character behind Gerzel Petallo and Congo's Faida Bakanke.
"Lahat naman ng teams, nire-review namin at pinapagaaralan namin kung ano bang advantage ang puwede namin makuha sa kanila at bibigyan namin ng magandang laban ang FEU," said De Jesus.
("We review and study all the teams to see what advantages we can take against them, and we'll give FEU a good fight.")
The Lady Tamaraws hope to capitalize on their week-long break to handle the Lady Spikers.
"Siguro nga, ayun yung nagiging mindset kasi talagang contender na, kailangan talaga ipakita, hindi lang kailangang sabihin eh, kailangang trabahuin talaga na talagang contender tayo," said FEU assistant coach Manolo Refugia.
("Maybe that's the mindset now — since we're real contenders, we need to prove it. It's not enough to just say it; we really have to work hard to show that we're a true contender.")
"Kaya maganda na sa preparation namin for next game against La Salle ay mahaba, maraming time para makapag recover, mapag aralan yung mga ginagawa nila, kung ano yung puwedeng maging advantage or disadvantage," he added.
("That's why it's good that our preparation time for the next game against La Salle is long. We have plenty of time to recover, study what they do, and identify possible advantages or disadvantages.")
It was a tough first round for the Blue Eagles, who lost JLo delos Santos, Zel Tsunashima and Sobe Buena to injuries, as they lost three in a row, including last Wednesday's rivalry match against the Lady Spikers.
Ateneo's Brazilian coach Sergio Veloso is not giving up on the season.
"We can improvise our players. For now, we only have two days to prepare because without now I have only my have 12 original outside players and one of them it's Alex Montoro, her first season and I need to adjust (Zey) Pacia and I'm so proud because Zey Pacia played very good with this pressure," said Veloso.
"It's a part of the sport, when you play the high level, sometimes you play in the limit, and I talked about the situation we have now, we have three outside players, JLo, Sobe, and Zel who played both sides opposite and outside, and when I look the situation, I think of what happened," he added.
The Lady Warriors, whose roster was decimated with the departure of their last season's prized rookies led by Casiey Dongallo, hope to remain motivated to compete and eventually earn a breakthrough.
Khy Cepada and Van Bangayan are carrying the load for UE, with libero Ange Reyes taking care of the defensive end.
In the men's division, FEU shoots for a first round sweep against De La Salle at 11 a.m.
In a showdown between two sides which figured prominently in preseason leagues, the Tamaraws eye to extend their perfect run to seven matches against the Green Spikers, who are aiming to foil their foes' sweep bid.
"We respect La Salle, pero ang mindset namin ay continuous winning at tsaka yung goals namin, kailangan namin maachieve. We’ll just work it out. Ibig sabihin, hindi kami titigil," said FEU assistant coach Rene Dulay.
("We respect La Salle, but our mindset is focused on continuous winning, and we need to achieve our goals. We'll just work it out. This means we won't stop.")
While the Tamaraws have the mantra, "gold is the goal", the Green Spikers are determined to bounce back from back-to-back fourth place finishes and this matchup will be a good gauge for coach Jose Roque on how far they have come.
"Siguro, ito yung time na gusto talaga namin bumawi. We don’t want them na magkaroon ng stepladder if ever, pero we’ll try our best na ngayon, makabawi kami. Ibibigay talaga namin yung best namin, or maybe even better than this performance [against Ateneo]. Ipu-push ko talaga sila," said Roque.
("Maybe this is the time when we really want to bounce back. We don't want them to have a stepladder opportunity if ever, but we'll try our best to make a comeback this time. We'll really give our best, or maybe even better than this performance [against Ateneo]. I'll really push them.")
Ateneo and UE collide in the other men's match at 9 a.m.
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