FEU Beats Ateneo, Forces Playoff For Last Semos Berth

Far Eastern U refused to wilt under pressure and frustrated Ateneo, 25-21, 27-25, 11-25, 25-18, forcing a playoff for the last Final Four berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 second conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Lady Tams recovered from a sloppy third set setback as they re-grouped in the fourth to pound out the victory in 1:33 and stay in the hunt for the fourth and last seat in the semifinal round of the league’s season-ending conference.

Lyceum survived National U’s gritty stand and carved out a tough 25-13, 26-24, 25-23 victory to clinch the third semis berth in the first game.

The Lady Pirates finished with a 7-5 slate for third. San Sebastian-Excelroof and Adamson finished with identical 10-2 cards to clinch the top two berths.

FEU and Ateneo each turned in 49 kills but the Lady Tams, behind Rachel Anne Daquis and Cherry Vivas, proved steadier, particularly in the first two sets where they outlasted the Lady Eagles to go 2-up. But the Loyola-based squad fought back and dominated the third, pouncing on the Lady Tams’ lethargic play to extend the match, only to be foiled by the resurgent FEU side in the fourth.

FEU thus tied Ateneo at 6-6 at the close of the carryover quarterfinal round of the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza. They dispute the last semis slot at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Daquis matched Thai import’s Surasawadee Boonyuen’s 23-hit effort while Vivas fired 16 points and neutralized Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez’s 15-hit game.

Michelle Carolino backed Daquis and Vivas with 11 hits, including three blocks while Monique Tiangco and Wenneth Eulalio combined for 13 points for the Lady Tams.

Bea Pascual and Gretchen Ho struggled with seven and six points, respectively, while Fille Cainglet, a vital cog in Ateneo’s offense, saw action only in the fourth and had one point.

Earlier, Mary Jean Balse and Dahlia Cruz combined for 30 kills while Joy Cases stepped up to fire 12 hits but the Lady Pirates had to walk the tightrope to subdue an also-ran NU side in one hour and 13 minutes. Out of it all, the Lady Bulldogs still went for a victory in a bid to close out their campaign on a winning note but they fell short of their upset bid, losing crucial points at endgame of the last two sets.

Still, the newcomers proved they could be a force to reckon with in future conferences of the league organized by Sports Vision with Maricar Nepomuceno leading the charge with 14 hits and Mervic Mangui and Denise Santiago adding 13 and 10 points, respectively.

NU actually outblocked Lyceum, 9-6, and produced more aces, 8-5. But the Lady Bulldogs just couldn’t hold on in down-to-the-wire finishes as the Lady Pirates leaned on their experience and endgame spunk to foil their rivals.
NU wound up with a 2-10 card.

Ann Tabafunda, Jamie Peña and Marie Casanova combined for just eight points but Balse, Cruz and Cases’ solid games proved enough to carry the Lady Pirates into the next round of the conference backed by Accel, Mikasa and Excelroof. Playoff spikes on Sunday, September 5 at 4pm.