By Marcus Isaac D.G Bandong

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws secured their second consecutive Finals ticket after a grueling five-set thriller, 25-23, 20-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-12, against the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s volleyball Final Four earlier today, April 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. 

Both hungry for a playoff push, FEU and AdMU went toe-to-toe on both ends which resulted in a deadlock at 15-15.

‎Fortunately, the green-and-gold squad broke free from the Blue Eagles' defense courtesy of Luis Miguel and Amet Bituin's combined attacks to end the first set, 25-23.

However, in the second set, the Morayta-based squad was unable to handle the Katipunan-based team's offensive barrage as they suffered a huge seven-point deficit, 14-21.

Off the timeout, the Tamaraws rallied behind Dryx Saavedra’s attacks to cut the lead to four, 19-23.

Unfortunately, FEU was unable to fend off the strong spike of AdMU's Jian Salarzon that capped off the second set, 20-25.

Looking to one-up each other, both the Tamaraws and Blue Eagles were again at an early deadlock at 10-10.

Still, FEU’s floor defense was flawed as Ateneo blitzed on offense, giving them another eight-point deficit, 13-21.

To finish the third set, the green-and-gold squad was bombarded by Blue Eagles Salarzon and Kennedy Batas' attacks, 15-25.

Down to a crucial set, the Tamaraws were hungrier as ever as they sprinted towards a quick nine-point lead, 17-8.

To tie the game, FEU stalwart Mikko Espartero delivered a powerful cross-court attack to snag the fourth set, 25-17.

Reliable as ever, Saavedra went on a personal four-point run to kickstart the fifth set, 5-1. To keep the lead at four, the Tamaraws utilized Ateneo’s errors, 12-8.

‎Still, the blue-and-white squad went on a mini run to cut the gap to one, 12-11. 

Thankfully, star of the show Amet Bituin displayed his offensive repertoire as he scored three straight points to finish the match, 15-12.

After a crucial win, Saavedra led with 14 points all built on spikes, while Player of the Game Bituin had 12 points from 11 spikes and one block.

In the post-game conference, Bituin credited his teammates and coaches for their game plan that led him to score the last three points.

“Nagtiwala lang din ako sa mga teammates ko, and sa mga coaches [sa] kung ano ‘yung binibigay na instructions, and kinailangan namin linisin ‘yung laro kaya mas ginusto naming manalo (I trusted my teammates and my coaches on the instructions and we had to clean up our play to make sure we win the match),” he said.

In their intense five-set win, FEU lead tactician Eddieson Orcullo also gave credit to Ateneo’s game plan all throughout the match.

“This is [the] UAAP, hindi madaling manalo, so ‘yung adjustment na ginawa ni coach Vince [Mangulabnan], hats off talaga… Maraming salamat sa [Ateneo] kasi binigyan niyo kami ng magandang laban (This is the UAAP, it’s not easy to win, so I just want to give credit to coach Vince’s adjustments… and also to Ateneo for giving us an intense game,” he shared.

Now with the semis out of the way, the Morayta-based squad will face National University in a championship rematch, with the date and venue yet to be announced.

(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)