Foreign student-athlete (FSA) Faida Bakanke fueled the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws to get the win over the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 25-21, 25-16, 14-25, 26-24, preventing them from falling out of the top four in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women's volleyball tournament earlier today, April 6, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Bakanke finished with 20 points from 17 attacks and three blocks combined with seven excellent digs.

The opposite spiker shared that she was motivated going up against the Fighting Maroons because of their loss in the first round.

"First, I want to say thank you to God, to [the] Lord. It was not easy because in the first round we lost against UP. So it's my motivation to get back at UP, to show who I am, to show who we are," the FSA said.

Both FEU and UP started off hungry in the first set, resulting in a back-and-forth affair until 16-16.

Fortunately, the Lady Tams held their own and went on a 5-1 run courtesy of Bakanke to clinch the first set, 25-21.

The seesaw battle did not continue in the second set as the green-and-gold squad capitalized on the Fighting Maroons' errors, ending the set with a nine-point margin, 25-16.

However, the tides changed in the third set as Diliman-based middle blocker Kassy Doering went on a tear, ballooning the Morayta-based squad's deficit to seven, 4-11.

Despite outside hitter Gerzel Petallo's efforts to keep them afloat, the UP's offense still prevailed, 14-25.

Looking to finish the match, the Lady Tams heightened their floor defense to hand the Fighting Maroons a seven-point margin, 9-2.

Unfortunately, the Tina Salak-led squad was plagued with errors, giving the Benson Bocboc-led team a cushion, 16-20.

In need of a miracle, Bakanke went on a personal 5-point spurt to give them a two-point lead, 24-22.

Motivated by this run, the Lady Tamaraws went on to win the fourth set after a Chenie Tagaod spike, 26-24.

Coach Salak was proud of her team's maturity and emphasized the mixed emotions she felt when watching the final set of the match.

"Para akong nanonood ng action, biglang drama, ang hirap para sa amin i-maintain 'yung lead. Pero nakita ko 'yung maturity ng mga players kung paano namin i-handle 'yung behind four points (It felt like I was watching an action movie, which turned into drama, it was hard for us to maintain the lead. But I'm glad I saw the players' maturity on how they handled the four-point deficit),” the lead tactician said.

Outside hitters Chenie Tagaod and Gerzel Petallo both finished with 14 points respectively.

Now with a 7-4 standing, the Salak-led squad will look to secure their spot against the Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday, April 9, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

- Marcus Isaac D.G Bandong
(Photo by Aleena Louise Abad/FEU Advocate)