Far Eastern University moved one win away from sweeping the 2026 V-League Collegiate Challenge preliminaries with a masterful 25–20, 25–21, 25–13 sweep of archrival University of Santo Tomas on Saturday at Gameville Central Park in Mandaluyong City.
Anchored by their impeccable defense, the Tamaraws cruised to a double-digit 21–11 lead in the third and final set after back-to-back transition kills from Charles Absin and Luis Miguel.
A Xandrex Ragusta block and an attack error from GBoy De Vega extended FEU’s advantage as the Tamaraws never looked back to secure their sixth straight win.
“Siguro, mina-mindset lang namin na hindi kami dumating sa point na ma-pressure kaming lahat. Lahat halos ng game namin, kapag ma-pressure kami parang hirap na hirap na kami makabalik. So ang mindset lang namin, kahit anong mangyari sa laban, balik lang kami sa sistema namin,” said team captain Dryx Saavedra.
Co-captains Absin and Saavedra paced FEU with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Kyle Tandoc chipped in seven points, while Doula Ndongala added six.
The Tamaraws will take on Colegio de San Juan de Letran in a battle for the top seed in the semifinals on Sunday at 5 p.m.
UST, meanwhile, dropped to 3–4, leaving its semifinal fate dependent on the result of the De La Salle Green Spikers’ clash with the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Blazers.
De Vega led the Golden Spikers with 12 points, while Trevor Valera added 10. However, UST committed 26 errors, which proved costly in its bid to secure a semifinals berth.
Earlier in the day, National University bounced back from a heartbreaking five-set defeat to FEU with a straight-set victory over Arellano University, 25–20, 25–17, 25–14, to close out its preliminary-round campaign.
The Bulldogs responded to the challenge despite missing Peng Taguibolos, Leo Ordiales, and Buds Buddin, who all flew to Japan to represent the Philippines in the Asian Games.
Choi Diao, Godfrey Gambo, Luke Macatangay, and RK Medino stepped up in the crucial match, helping NU move into third place at 5–2 pending the final matches of the eliminations.
“After nung talo namin against FEU, sinabi ko sa kanila, mag-prepare kasi hindi na makakalaro yung mga Alas players natin. Nag-respond naman sila ngayon do’n sa challenge na binigay natin,” said longtime head coach Dante Alinsunurin.
(C) V-League Images
Gambo paced the Bulldogs with 12 points on nine kills, three blocks, and one service ace, while Macatangay and Medino added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Disquitado also delivered a quiet but efficient performance with seven points, three digs, and 11 excellent receptions.
Despite the convincing victory, Alinsunurin stressed the need for better patience and execution heading into the semifinals.
“Sa ‘kin is ‘yung pasensya lang sa court. Alam ko naman ‘yung kaya nilang gawin, pero minsan nagmamadali sila. Yun yung dapat talaga naming ma-address sa game namin,” Alinsunurin shared.
Arellano, meanwhile, bowed out of the tournament with a 2–5 record. Jiwen Sinuto was the Chiefs’ lone player in double figures with 12 points, all coming from attacks.
With FEU still unbeaten and NU already securing its semifinal spot, the remaining matches will determine the final semifinalists and their respective seedings.
