By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
Reigning champion Far Eastern University-Diliman avenged its five-set loss to National University-Nazareth School in Round 1 of the UAAP Season 86 High School Boys’ Volleyball Tournament by securing a 25-20, 25-15, 25-22 win at the Adamson University Gym on Sunday.
The Baby Tamaraws raised their record to 7-3 to remain in third place, trailing a game behind the Bullpups, who slipped to 8-2, in the race for the second twice-to-beat slot in the Final Four.
“Pinaghandaan namin talaga ‘yung NU kasi tight talaga kami doon sa [game against] UE so naka-recover kami nang ilang araw. So pinaghandaan talaga namin nang maayos,” shared FEU-D head coach Rjay del Rosario.
Momentum swung in the Baby Tamaraws’ favor after a heated second set that saw NUNS’ Yuan Mendoza receive a red card due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Sustaining their energy into the third frame, FEU-D seized the upper hand to take a narrow lead, 4-2, propelled by a four-point run that concluded with an off-the-block kill from Amet Bituin.
Both teams went point-for-point until the score was tied at 15. The Baby Tamaraws then went on a five-point surge, courtesy of three attacks by Kyle Tandoc and two from Luis Miguel.
The intensity persisted in the final set as Rhodson Du-ot was penalized with a yellow card for misconduct.
FEU-D withstood a late 5-1 rally from NUNS before Tandoc delivered an attack to send the Baby Tamaraws to match point. Despite a service error from Tandoc, a service error from Dave Lardizabal sealed FEU-D’s victory with a final score of 25-22.
Meanwhile, Ateneo recorded its second victory in the girls’ tournament after sweeping UPIS, 25-18, 28-26, 25-16.
With the win, the Blue Eagles ended a six-match losing streak, keeping the Junior Fighting Maroons winless in eight assignments.
UPIS started the third set with a five-point run sealed by a kill block from Janella Guarino. Down 4-7, the Blue Eagles took advantage of the Junior Fighting Maroons’ errors and responded with a six-point run to put themselves ahead, 10-7.
Ateneo continued to dominate and crafted an 11-2 run that saw Rian Ardidon score three service aces. UPIS staged a late comeback, saving four match points credited to two attacks from Guarino and Khloe Long alongside consecutive attack errors from the Blue Eagles, until Nicola Ladignon’s attack ended the match, 25-16.
Ateneo improved to 2-6 overall in sixth.
UPIS, having exited the final four race, fell to 0-9 in seventh place.
In other boys’ games, DLSZ emerged victorious in a five-set match against UPIS, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-11, to claim its fourth win.
The Junior Spikers sprinted to a 5-0 start in the fifth set credited to two kills from Mario Roxas, back-to-back errors from the Maroons, and a service ace from Jarrett Failana.
UPIS struggled to contain its errors, giving up five points to the Junior Spikers to widen the gap to five points, 11-6.
The Junior Fighting Maroons staged a late four-point rally to cut the lead to one, but the Junior Spikers managed to score three of the last four points, including the attack from Philippe Talens that closed out the match, 15-11.
DLSZ improved to a 4-6 card, keeping sixth place.
UPIS, who is no longer in the running for the final four, maintain their place at seventh.
