By Leiniel A. Santos

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws Amet Bituin and Reynan Postorioso notched the green-and-gold’s second consecutive bronze finish in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s beach volleyball tournament earlier today, November 26, at the Sands SM by the Bay in Pasay City.

The Bituin-Postorioso tandem started their semifinal match with an explosive 10-2 run against the National University (NU) Bulldogs. 

However, the Jhocson-based squad contained the offense of the Tamaraw duo and seized the upper hand to steal the first set, 20-22. 

During the second set, NU gained early momentum with a commanding 10-3 run against the green-and-gold squad. Unfortunately, the Tamaraws struggled to turn things around, succumbing to the loss and settling for the opportunity to compete only for bronze.

In their battle-for-third against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, FEU trailed behind at the start of the match, 3-8.

Fortunately, the Tamaraws were able to take advantage of UP’s errors, with Postorioso scoring seven points to win the set, 21-19.

FEU then carried their momentum into the second set, while the Fighting Maroons still struggled with their errors. 

Despite the Diliman squad’s 3-0 run in the latter part of the set, the Morayta-based squad was still able to end the match in a sweep.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Bituin mentioned that their mental calmness helped them win their battle for the bronze match.

“Mas naging kalmado kami kasi kanina sa NU, medyo nagmamadali kami so ayun, nahabol and natalo. Moving forward, sinabihan niya [Coach Jeremiah] kami na magdahan-dahan and sobrang proud niya pa rin samin kaya mas naging motivated kami (We became calmer because earlier at NU, we were in a rush, and because of that, we got caught up and lost. Moving forward, he told us to take it slow, and that he was still so proud of us, which made us even more motivated),” he said.

Postorioso added that they will keep on training to become better for the next season.

“Babawi kami next season and mas magte-training pa kami and itutuloy lang namin ‘yung mga pinapagawa samin ni Coach (We will bounce back next season, train harder, and continue doing the things that Coach has been asking us to do),” he stated. 

Defending champions University of Santo Tomas Tiger Sands extended their reign in the tourney, while the NU Bulldogs brought home the silver medal. 

(Photo courtesy of the UAAP Media Team)