The Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws swiftly tore through the De La Salle University – Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) Lady Patriots in straight sets 25-7, 25-11, 25-15 and closed in on securing a Top 4 spot in the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference at the FilOil Flying V Arena.
The Lady Tams played without guest player, Royse Tubino who was nursing a sprained pinky, but FEU demolished their foes without the NCAA MVP anyway, pulling significant contributions from everyone on the roster. Open hitters, Heather Guino-O and Toni Rose Basas pitched in 10 points each while guest player, Jovelyn Gonzaga fired in eight points in just two sets of action.
Dasma’s serve reception stunk the entire match. In the opening set, FEU established an 8-0 lead with the Lady Patriots floundering every serve. The girls from Recto took the set rather effortlessly as free balls came to their court at a surplus. The following set was no different, with FEU breaking free of DLSU’s hold through service stints from Jerrile Malabanan and Jovelyn Gonzaga. The third frame was close in the early goings but FEU’s bench players pulled their team to the quick win.
“Ang naging lamang lang talaga namin is sa service. Hindi nila nareceive ng maayos ‘yung mga serve namin kaya doon talaga kami nakakalayo,” said FEU head coach Shaq Delos Santos whose Lady Tams doubled up their foes in attacks (36-18) while also serving up 13 aces and dishing out six block kills.
In their previous match, FEU breezed past CSB. Winning their first two matches of the Top 8, the UAAP fourth placers now face the toughest patch of their schedule as they throw down with two of the hottest teams in the V-League, Ateneo and UST.
When asked about his team’s advantage against the UAAP champs, Coach Shaq was hesitant to give an answer. “Nagsisimula na kami maglaro as a team saka mag-gel. Siguro dadaanin na lang namin sa ensayo. Meron din naman kaming magaling na guest players in Jovelyn and Royse. Sana lang maka-recover na si Royse pagdating ng laban,” expressed Delos Santos whose FEU faces Ateneo on Saturday, August 29 then rounds off their schedule against the UST Tigresses on Saturday, September 5.
With a 4-1 record, FEU may need to win at least one more of their following matches to ensure their qualification. Along with the Lady Tams, UST and NU also have 4-1 slates while Ateneo is the only sure bet with a clean 5-0 record. Arellano is still waiting in the rear view mirror at fifth place with a 2-3 slate.
The Scores
FEU (3) – Basas 10, Guino-O 10, Gonzaga 8, Malabanan 6, Pons 5, Negrito 5, Casugod 4, Palma 4, Hernandez 2, Villareal 1, Cayuna 0, Duremdez (L), Atienza (L)
DLSU-D (0) – Lara 6, Nunag 4, Yongco 3, Delfin 2, Galicia 2, Sy 2, Tianco 0, Dadang 0, Amutan (L), Bartolazo (L)
