By Andrei M. Barrantes

The ‘battle of the east’ at the Mall of Asia Arena resulted in a lopsided affair as the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws handed a 25-16, 25-23, 25-19 loss to the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men's volleyball tourney earlier today, March 5.

FEU picked apart their Recto neighbors’ defense, exploiting holes and breaking their floor defense with their attacks.

The Tamaraw spikers only felt the pushback from UE in the second set, where John Steve Aligayon willed the Red Warriors to a narrow 23-25 loss.

It was a well-rounded affair as Tamaraws of various year-levels led the team in scoring.

Mikko Espartero and Lirick Mendoza scratched double digits with eight points, respectively, while team captain Jelord Talisayan, Dryx Saavedra, and Doula Ndongala chipped in seven apiece.

According to assistant coach Rene Dulay, creating a well-distributed offense was one of the main goals of the team to fix the shortcomings of the team the previous season.

“Actually, ang nangyari, kinakausap namin sila lagi regarding du’n. Bibigyan din namin ng break lahat hangga’t maaari, hindi ‘yung one-man show lang ‘yung kalalabasan. Ibig sabihin well-distributed ‘yung points na ibibigay nila (Actually, we always talk to them about that. Everyone will be given a break, so that it won’t just be a one-man show. Meaning, the points given will be well-distributed),” Dulay said.

Mendoza and Ndongala combined for seven blocks while senior setter Benny Martinez had 10 excellent sets.

With their fifth straight victory, this is FEU’s best start to the season since Season 81, where they swept the first round. 

As Mendoza added, their chemistry has improved compared to Season 86, citing it as one of the biggest factors for the Morayta squad’s hot start.

“Last season, mayroon naman kaming brotherhood pero mas nadagdagan. Dahil sa mga first-year, dahil sa ginagawa namin sa dorm (We had a brotherhood last season, but it improved because of the first-years and because of the things we do at the dorm),” he added. 

The top-seeded Tamaraws now boast a 5-0 win-loss record. They will square off against Adamson University for their third game of the week on Saturday, March 8, at the same venue. 

(Photo courtesy of the UAAP Media Team)