FAR Eastern University (FEU) defeated University of Santo Tomas (FEU) in the knockout match for the No. 4 seed in the stepladder semifinals on Wednesday, 25-21, 25-15, 20-25, 16-25, 15-6, of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The triumvirate of Bernadeth Pons, Heather Anne Guino-o and Geneveve Casugod tallied 17 markers—with Pons pounding in 15 spikes with 12 digs and Guino-o marking down 12 kills—for the Lady Tamaraws. Mary Joy Palma chipped in 11 points.
The Lady Tamaraws will face the Lady Bulldogs at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for the right to face No. 2 De La Salle further into the semifinal round.
Pamela Lastimosa led UST’s comeback effort in the third and fourth sets, scoring 19 points off 16 spikes and two blocks. Cherry Ann Rondina and Marivic Meneses added 11 apiece for the Tigresses.
It was the last game for star libero Dancel Jan Dusaran in the black and gold jersey, dishing out 23 digs in her swan song.
“Thank God, kasi naka-survive kami sa fifth set. Nakikita namin ’yung kumpiyansa ng bawat isa na kahit down kami, kaya naming maka-recover,” FEU Coach Shaq de los Santos said.
In the men’s Final Four earlier on Wednesday, Ateneo de Manila University booked a return ticket to the finals at the expense of Adamson University, 25-16, 25-12, 26-28, 25-20, behind the efforts of captain Ysrael Wilson Marasigan and Season 76 rookie Most Valuable Player Marck Jesus Espejo.
Marasigan topped all scorers with 23 points off 14 attacks, five blocks and four service aces. Espejo contributed 22 markers on 19 hits, while Joshua Alexis Miguel Villanueva contributed 11.
The Blue Eagles duplicated the feat of their women’s and boys’ squads, which also advanced to the championship round this season.
This is the second straight year that the Blue Eagles make their way into the final round under Head Coach Oliver Almadro, but they will have to wait a little longer to find out their opponent, as third-seeded National University nixed UST’s twice-to-beat edge in their half of the playoff ladder.
The back-to-back defending champions levelled their Final Four series against the Tiger Spikers, but took a long hard road to complete a four-set 26-24, 28-26, 23-25, 25-21 in nearly two hours in the day’s opening contest.
Peter Den Mar Torres and Jan Berlin Paglinawan proved to be the two-headed monster for the Bulldogs, scoring 19 points apiece to lead their cause. Skipper Rueben Inaudito contributed 17, while Ruben Baysac had 12.
As a result, NU injected new life to their repeat bid and forge a one-off showdown this Saturday for the right to face Ateneo in the best-of-three title series.
Image credits: Alysa Salen