The FEU Tamaraws clinched another victory in a come-from-behind thriller against the DLSU Green Spikers, 18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-13 in arguably the longest and most tightly-contested match so far, held in the San Juan Arena.
The frontline duo of Mike Frey and Red Christensen served as a headache for the Tamaraws in the first two sets as the two provided the offense and anchored the net defense for La Salle. In the last three sets of the game, the Spikers lost their grip in the closing moments that led to FEU escaping with the sets.
Down four points in the fourth set and on the verge of losing the match at 20-24, the Tamaraws erupted for six points to extend the game. FEU settled for drop shots and combination plays that worked wonders against the surprised DLSU squad.
In the deciding set, FEU rushed to a quick lead together with a long pause in the middle of the game due to rotation problems. La Salle then responded with their rally to regain the lead but the Tamaraws had the last laugh as they had enough firepower to finish off the Green Spikers.
In a game that was neck and neck the entire match, La Salle edged FEU in spikes, 54-51, but doubled the output of their opponents in blocks, 16-8. The Tamaraws committed less errors though, 44-32.
FEU improves to a 2-2 slate while La Salle slides to 1-3. The Tamaraws look to extend their winning run against UST in the last game day of the year on Dec. 13. On the other hand, DLSU looks to bounce back on Wednesday against Ateneo.
Franco Camcam paced FEU with 14 points. Frey led all scorers with 22 points including five rejections. Christensen added 18 markers with 14 attacks and three aces.
The scores:
FEU – Camcam 14, Cayaban 10, Dolor 9, Margate 9, Barrica 8, Solis 6, Gacutan 4, Refugia 1, Villegas 0, Miranda 0, Marmento (L) 0
DLSU – Frey 22, Christensen 18, Onia 13, Santos 11, Calderon 8, Del Pilar 6, Dimayuga 6, Asia 0, Dizon(L) 0
