For the second straight season, Far Eastern University swept the first round of the UAAP collegiate men’s volleyball tournament.
The Tamaraws completed a 7–0 campaign in Season 88 on Saturday, defeating a streaking UST Golden Spikers squad, 28-30, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Aware of the tougher challenge that awaits in the second round — having gone through the same situation in Season 87 — Mikko Espartero believes the team is better equipped to handle it this time.
“Sinasabi nga na same lang din ng last season yung nangyari. Pero yung advantage lang sa amin ngayon is at least na-experience na namin yung last season,” said the sophomore Espartero.
“At least ngayon mas mahahandle na namin at makakapag-adjust na kami sa ganitong sitwasyon.”
In Season 87, after sweeping the first round, FEU finished the eliminations as the top seed. However, National University handed them a loss in the second round, ending their run at 13–1 and forcing a traditional Final Four format.
Despite the Tamaraws’ strong push to the Finals, it was still the Bulldogs who prevailed, clinching their fifth straight UAAP men’s volleyball championship after a hard-fought three-game series.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
This time, opposite spiker Dryx Saavedra believes FEU is deeper and more unpredictable, with captain-setter Ariel Cacao orchestrating a balanced offense that activates all attackers.
Saavedra, Espartero, and middle blocker Lirick Mendoza currently rank fourth, fifth, and sixth in the MVP race after the first round.
Amet Bituin sits at 10th, while Cacao and libero Vennie Ceballos are in 11th and 12th places, respectively. Another starter, Doula Ndongala, is at 17th — giving FEU all of its usual starters spots inside the top 20.
“Kanina, ‘yun nga rin ang iniisip ko na same lang din ‘to last season, pero siyempre doon kami sa part na dapat consistent lang. We need to be consistent, kasi alam namin halos lahat ng teams matured eh,” said Saavedra.
“‘Yung FEU ngayon, hindi lang isang tao maiiisip pag sinasabing FEU. Laging team effort and sobrang ganda ng ginagalaw ng team, lahat nagtutulungan — yun yung bago ngayon.”
#WATCH: SAME LANG DIN ‘TO LAST SEASON 🐃
This time around, though, Dryx Saavedra and Mikko Espartero have learned their lesson 🏐 #ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/g63dOfS5QV
📹 @justinvalencia_ /Tiebreaker Times#UAAPSeason88 pic.twitter.com/l8U0yoL1BF
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 14, 2026
