UAAP: FEU Lady Tams finish fourth after five-set epic versus Adamson

(Updated 7:39pm) The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws closed out round one of the UAAP women's volleyball tournament by taking fourth place at the expense of the Adamson Lady Falcons, following a 25-21 25-20 29-31 19-25 15-10 thriller, Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Both sides entered with matching 3-3 records, but the FEU win gave them a 4-3 card and fourth place in the standings, behind perfect DLSU, NU and ADMU. Adamson had to settle for fifth at 3-4.

Adamson kicked off the first set with a 10-3 score, care of FEU’s reception errors and mental errors. Mayette Zapanta was off to a consistent start as she easily piled up the points from the service zone. Bernadette Pons retaliated by finding the open zones in the court and forcing Adamson to unforced errors. Marie Simborio’s off-speed attack forced a 14-all deadlock, and a succeeding Adamson error flipped the lead to the Lady Tamaraws, 15-14.  

Both teams exchanged hits, as the set turned into a back-and-forth affair. FEU however managed to pull away from the Lady Falcons with their well-timed blocks and perfect anticipation of incoming attacks to win, 25-21.

Although the Lady Falcons dropped the second set, the duo of Zapanta and Shiela Pineda propelled Adamson to an early 8-2 advantage. But much like the first set, the FEU Lady Tamaraws found a way to fight back. Led by the sensational Pons and backed up by Geneveve Casugod’s wall-like blocks, the Lady Tamaraws captured their first lead of the set at 13-12. Consistency from FEU’s blocking and a multitude of errors by Pineda positioned handed the Lady Tamaraws a 25-20 victory.

The Lady Tamaraws steamed through the third set with an 8-3 start prior to the first technical timeout. Pineda responded with block-piercing spikes and pulled Adamson closer at 12-11. With an abundance of unforced errors by the Lady Tamaraws, it created an opportunity for the Lady Falcons to grab the lead at 13-12.  The set eventually boiled down to both teams answering each other on the offensive and defensive end. With Pineda and Amanda Villanueva pushing Adamson at set point, 24-22, the Lady Tamaraws retaliated quickly by scoring three straight, to take a 25-24 lead. But with the resiliency of Villanueva and the rest of the Lady Falcons, Adamson managed to force an extended set.

The nail-biting action between both teams featured long rallies, well-timed blocks and explosive spikes all leading to a 29-all deadlock. The veteran Pineda pulled through in the clutch to give Adamson set point at 30-29 and after Pons’ attack sailed far, the Lady Falcons prevailed, 31-29.  

The pace of the third set carried over to the fourth as both teams battled against fatigue. Fortunately for Adamson, the experience of Pineda and Villanueva catapulted the Lady Falcons to a 22-17 cushion. The startled FEU defense failed to cover the surging Villanueva as she delivered a block-piercing spike to force a fifth and final set at 25-18.

The final set had the Lady Tamaraws regaining the momentum they possessed in the first two. With adequate receptions and a steady line of defense, FEU survived the match with a five point win at 15-10.

FEU coach Cesael Delos Santos, with a sigh of relief, said that the win showed great opportunities for the team. “Natest naming kung paano nila nahahandle ang pressure. Kasi before sa ganyang sitwasyon, medyo nagigive up ang mga bata.”

With another exciting win for the team, Delos Santos expressed that the coaching staff had to share some words of encouragement for the team. “Huwag niyo isipin yung third and fourth set kasi talo tayo doon, so kailangan magmove on tayo. Mga ten to fifteen minutes lang ‘tong last set na ‘to, sagarin na natin; all out.”

Bernadette Pons had 27 points to lead FEU, which had three other players finish in double-figures. Shiela Pineda scored a game-high 29, but a whopping 21-8 difference in blocks between the two teams swung the game in Far Eastern's way. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:
 
FEU – Pons 27, Palma 16, Simborio 14, Basas 6, Casugod 3, Dawson 4

Adamson – Pineda 29, Villanueva 16, Zapanta 9, Paat 7, Cortel 6, Guevara 4, Macatuno 2, Alkuino 1