By Leiniel A. Santos

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws regained to be at the top of the standings as they prevailed against the Adamson University (AdU) Falcons, 25-23, 25-20, 25-19, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament held today, March 9, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

Ariel Cacao commenced the match with an early point from the service line, but the lead was instantly stolen as AdU’s Ronn Domingo managed to activate his middle spikers.

The green-and-gold squad played catch up with the Falcons until Cacao produced his second ace to tie the score, followed by Dryx Saavedra’s sharp cross attack to clinch a one point advantage, 20-19.

The Morayta-based squad successfully snatched the first set with the help of Vincent Nadera and Benny Martinez’s double-sub to maintain a strong frontline with three spikers

Fortunately, the Orcullo-led squad succeeded at their momentum in the second set as Bryce De Guzman swiped the floor clean on FEU’s defense, gaining 13 excellent receptions throughout the match.

The Falcons tried to claw back during the start of the third set with Francis Casas leading the way, however their three consecutive attack errors halted them as they lost the match.

In a post-game conference, head coach Eddieson Orcullo mentioned that they recovered from their lost against NU only in 24 hours.

“‘Di kasi pwedeng titigil kami sa nangyari samin against NU, kung meron kaming 24 hours na paghahanda pag galing kami sa panalo, pag talo, meron lang den kaming 24 hours para maka-recover galing sa talo (We can't stop what happened to us against NU, if we have 24 hours of preparation when we come from a win, if we lose, we only have 24 hours to recover from the loss),” he said

He added that they saw the weakness of Adamson in the latter final part of the first set.

“‘Yung Adamson kasi kung makikita natin 'yung head coach niyan Tamaraw den, siguro ‘yung strategy nila medyo kinulang lang. Pagdating naman sa amin medyo nagkakapaan pag first set, sa latter part ‘don kami kumapit at nakita 'yung weakness ng Adamson (The Adamson because if we see the head coach of that Tamaraw den, maybe their strategy is a little lacking. When it came to us, it was a bit of a struggle in the first set, in the latter part, we came back and saw the weakness of Adamson”,) he added.

Four Tamaraws reached double-digit scores with Saavedra leading the Tamaraws again with 13 points, Martin Bugaoan’s 11 points, and JJ Javelona and Andrei Delicana’s 10.

The Tamaraws currently stand with a 5-1 win-loss record and will attempt to finish the first round of eliminations with a win against Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) on March 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

(Photo by Gwyneth Mendoza/FEU Advocate)