NATIONAL University (NU) barged into the championship round for the fifth straight year as the Bulldogs survived a stubborn Far Eastern University (FEU) side, 23-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-21, 15-11, in their no-tomorrow semifinals showdown in Season 79 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s volleyball action on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Bulldogs will face the “three-peat-seeking” Ateneo Blue Eagles for the fourth straight season. Game One is set on May 2 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
NU’s journey this season was its toughest. The Tamaraws extended the Bulldogs to a knockout semifinal match with a 22-25, 26-24, 28-26, 25-17 victory on Sunday.
And Bulldogs continued to struggle in their no-tomorrow showdown and trailed the Tamaraws, two sets to one. They were on the brink of elimination when FEU pulled away, 20-16, in the fourth set.
But the NU spikers did not give up and nailed nine of the last 10 points to force a deciding fifth set.
The Bulldogs rode the momentum heading into the decider and posted an 11-7 lead. The Tamaraws, however, continued to gore their way and forced an 11-all.
James Natividad stopped the bleeding and the Bulldogs took the last three points, highlighted by two attack errors by the Tamaraws, to earn the ticket to the Finals.
Bryan Bagunas led NU with 23 points on 18 attacks, three blocks and two aces with eight receptions and five digs. Fauzi Ismail chipped in 18 hits with nine receptions, while Kim Malabunga added 10. Setter Kim Harold Dayadante dished out 27 excellent sets.
Redijohn Paler and Greg Dolor scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, and Ronchette Villegas had 37 excellent sets in their last match in a Tamaraw uniform.
The Finals were originally scheduled to start on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena but were moved to May 2 to give way to the country’s hosting of the 30th Asean Summit.
Game One is set on May 2 and Game Two will be on May 6. A Game Three, if necessary, will be played on May 10. All matches are set at the Big Dome.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza