Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

ADMU

Ateneo Lady Eagles return to Finals, send FEU packing


Following an uncharacteristic loss last Saturday, top seeds Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles bounced back and stifled the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws to earn a seat in the UAAP Finals, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-14, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.

Ateneo missed the Finals last year, for the first time in six seasons. This time, they will face the UST Tigresses in the best-of-three Finals. Game One will be on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Errors plagued FEU to start the match, as they piled up 11 in the first set. This directly led to a 20-15 Ateneo lead, from which they could not recover.

The Lady Tamaraws got their bearings in the second frame, opening with an 8-3 blitz. Ateneo then rallied to take an 18-15 lead. Following a timeout, FEU burst into a 6-0 run capped by a three Jerrili Malabanan hits, to retake the lead, 21-18. Malabanan again struck late, putting FEU at set point, 24-20. Ateneo rookie Vannie Gandler then served wide to give FEU the set.

A tight third set swung Ateneo’s way after FEU miscues propelled them to a 17-13 lead. The Lady Eagles nursed that lead until they reached set point, 24-20. FEU then mustered a late run, taking the next three points, until Ponggay Gaston capped a long rally with a cut shot and gave Ateneo the two-set advantage.

By the fourth set, FEU’s seniors completely lost grip on the match, going down 8-1. Ateneo saw FEU get within five, 15-10, but then closed the match on a 10-4 tear.

According to head coach Oliver Almadro, Ateneo’s recovery from their loss took a lot of emotional maturity from his entire team.

#ReadMore  Calvin Abueva grateful to fans as Phoenix-NLEX game draws 720K online views

“Importante yung will ng heart and ng players namin. From number one to number 14, they really worked hard and really pushed each other up. Hindi pa dito tapos ang mission nila. We will trust the Lord and we will work harder,” said Almadro.

Kat Tolentino led all scorer with 19 points from 17 attacks and two blocks. Maddie Madayag and Ponggay Gaston each provided 12 markers.

In their final UAAP match, Jerrili Malabanan fired 18 points; Heather Guino-O added 12; while Kyle Nagrito tossed nine excellent sets and tallied three points.

The Lady Tamaraws made their fifth consecutive Final Four appearance, but failed to make a return to the Finals after meeting La Salle in the championship round last year.


The Scores

ADMU (3) – Tolentino 19, Gaston 12, Madayag 12, De Leon 9, Samonte 4, Wong 3, Maraguinot 1, Furukawa 0, Gandler 0, Gequillana (L), Ravena (L)

FEU (1) – Malabanan 18, Guino-O 12, Villareal 11, Domingo 4, Cayina 3, Negrito 3, Ronquillo 3, Agudo 3, Hernandez 0, Duremdes (L)

Written By

Miguel Luis Flores fell face first into sports writing in high sch9l and has never gotten up. He reluctantly stumbled into the volleyball beat when he started with Tiebreaker Times three years ago. Now, he has waded through everything volleyball - from its icky politics to the post-modern art that is Jia Morado's setting.


You May Also Like

News

Chery Tiggo kicked off its new era under head coach Norman Miguel and without star player Eya Laure on a high note, securing a...

ADMU

Defending champions National University dashed the unbeaten streak of Far Eastern University with a hard-fought 25-16, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22 victory in a knockout match,...

News

Despite battling an auditory condition, Kat Tolentino feels determined to regain her form and become a vital contributor for Choco Mucho in the 2024-25...

News

In a thrilling opener that capped the first day of the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Petro Gazz rallied past Choco Mucho in...

News

Akari bounced back from an extended opening-set loss en route to defeating Galeries Tower in four sets, 28-30, 25-15, 25-16, 25-23, for a successful...

ADMU

Defending champion National University; league-leaders Far Eastern University and De La Salle University; and University of Santo Tomas all clinched semifinal spots in the...

CSB

De La Salle and Far Eastern University secured contrasting victories on Wednesday to enter the knockout stage of the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Pre-season...

ADMU

De La Salle University extended its dominant run in the 2024 Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship, defeating the University of the East, 23-25,...

Advertisement