By Andrei M. Barrantes

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws will suffer a do-or-die scenario after narrowly losing their second University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s volleyball finals match against the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 20-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-18, 11-15, earlier today, May 14, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Tamaraws got into early trouble due to NU’s improved blocking from their first finals game last May 11 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. 

Though starters Mikko Espartero, Doula Ndongala, and Dryx Saavedra came to play, their three points each were not enough to offset NU’s Obed Mukaba and Rwenzmel Tagubolos, who dropped six and four en route to the 20-25 triumph.

In the second set, the Morayta squad responded on the defensive end, tacking five blocks and minimizing errors.

Despite once again trailing, FEU went on an 8-1 run to overtake the Bulldogs.

After another deadlock at 22, the green-and-gold squad managed to snag the set, 25-22, with Saavedra and Amet Bituin scoring four of the last five Tamaraw points.

For the third straight set, NU managed to get the jump on the Tamaraws, this time closing in on the 20-point mark before FEU even reached double-digit points.

While FEU’s attacking powered through despite better blocking on Saavedra and team captain Jelord Talisayan, it was their six errors that gave them the early deficit, and ultimately led to their 15-25 loss.

In the crucial fourth set, the Tams corrected course, this time capitalizing on NU’s seven tallied errors and hammering home 15 attacks to extend the match to five sets. 

Unfortunately, errors would once again haunt FEU’s title hopes in the fifth set. After elevating to 8-5, the Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run to erase the deficit and overtake the Morayta squad by two.

With NU clinging onto a two-point lead, a crucial miscommunication error by setter Ariel Cacao and Talisayan doomed their comeback hopes.

Despite the emphatic block by Cacao, who had two this game, in the following possession, NU managed a crosscourt kill and a block in back-to-back possessions, extending the series to three games.

In the post-game press conference, Head Coach Eddieson Orcullo only had one plea to the Tamaraw Spikers ahead of their game three match.

“Composure. Kasi kung makikita natin ‘yung game kanina, medyo siguro na-rattle, o kung ano man. Baka kailangan linisin pa 'yung mga bagay-bagay na dapat na maging maayos pa (Composure. Because if we look at the game earlier today, they might have been rattled a bit, or whatever the case may be. We might need to polish a few more things to improve our chances),” he said.

Even though they gave the defending champions another game and possibly even the momentum with this loss, Orcullo and crew are keen on not wasting their time thinking about what could have been.

“Siguro 'yung hinayang, pero hindi kasi nangyari talaga ‘yun, eh. So ang gawin lang natin, imbis na manghinayang, eh 'di bumalik ka na lang ulit doon sa gagawin mo para mag-prepare ka ulit (I guess there is regret, but we shouldn’t because it happened already. So what we will do instead is to get back to work for us to better prepare ourselves),” he added.

Saavedra was at peak form, hammering home 24 points on 23 attacks. Bituin loosely followed with 10 points all on attacks, and Charles Absin chipped in nine points with four blocks.

Meanwhile, NU got a hefty boost from four Bulldogs in double figures, namely Leo Ordiales with 13, John Kade Parreno with 10, and Mukaba and Michaelo Buddin both dropping 20 points.

Both setters thrived in this match as senior Tamaraw Ariel Cacao and NU’s Greg Ancheta notched 21 excellent sets apiece.

Aside from the lower scoring from the green-and-gold side, defense and errors also riddled their inconsistent play. In four of five sets, FEU fell to large deficits, most of them coming from unguardable combination plays for Mukaba and an atrocious 30 errors.

The series is now at 1-1, pitching both squads in a winner-takes-all thriller on Saturday, May 17, at the same venue.

(Photo by Zedrich Xylak Madrid/FEU Advocate)