FEU tops La Salle, seals No. 1 seed in Final Four

MANILA, Philippines — Top-ranked Far Eastern University came to its senses after dropping the opening set to defeat De La Salle University, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22 and enter the UAAP Season 87 Men's Volleyball Final Four with four straight wins on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws' victory, which pushed them to 13-1, also confirmed the semifinals pairing, making this match a preview of the no. 1 vs no. 4 matchup with the Green Spikers dropping to 9-5.

The other Final Four pairing pits National University and University of Santo Tomas with the defending four-time champions armed with a twice-to-beat incentive just like FEU, making their collision Sunday a no-bearing match in terms of the standings.

"Yung game na ito nagpapasalamat ako sa players and coaches ko. Yung nangyari lang from day one until today last day ng elimination round, masasabi kong deserved ng mga bata kung nasaan kami ngayon kasi uhaw talaga 'yung mga bata," said FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo.

But he emphasized with the Final Four up next: "13-1 doesn't count. 0-0 na ulit."

Charles Absin and Dryx Saavedra led the Tamaraws' onslaught in the fourth set where they established a 20-14 lead before getting to match point at 24-19.

A last push was made by the Green Spikers as a Mikko Espartero service went way out before Eco Adajar added one more point on a solid block. Then another error from FEU gave La Salle a fighting chance as Lirick Mendoza's attack sailed out before Amet Bituin finally closed the match with a hit into the arms of Paolo Layug for the win after one hour and 50 minutes.

"Masasabi kong ready na talaga kami kasi yun nga sa akin personally, napagusapan namin kagabi na ang haba nung Holy week rest namin so excited ako kasi parang bago ulit sa akin na gusto ko palaging may game kaya yun yung nagpush sa akin kanina na gawin yung best ko kasi namiss ko maglaro," said Saavedra, who had 25 points on 20 spikes, three blocks, and two aces.

The Tamaraws also won their first round encounter against the Green Spikers, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19.

Espartero added 15 points and 18 receptions to back Saavedra while Bituin got 11 points of his own.

Absin also shone off the bench with eight points while Ariel Cacao steered FEU's offense with 29 excellent sets.

Noel Kampton delivered 16 points and 16 receptions in this loss that also cut the Green Spikers' streak of four straight victories.

Rui Ventura supplied 15 points and seven digs while Chris Hernandez had seven points and 16 excellent receptions. TMT