Falcons out to paint clearer picture in muddled race for bottom two semis slots
La Salle is a foregone conclusion at this point of Season 88 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament, as the Lady Spikers will be No. 1 at the end of the eliminations no matter what happens until the end of this week.
Only a loss in any of their final two games—which begins with an 11 a.m. playdate with winless University of the East at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Wednesday—would necessitate the playing of the Final Four as a semifinal round.
The Lady Spikers have a 12-0 record and are two wins away from making the title series outright via a sweep, which can happen by pairing a win over the Lady Warriors with another victory over defending champion National University on Sunday.
This puts all eyes on the race for the bottom two slots of the semifinals—whatever form that may be.
Three teams are tied for No. 3, and one of those sides, Adamson, battles University of the Philippines in the 5 p.m. game with the Soaring Falcons looking for a win that would give them some breathing room before the big plunge against idle Far Eastern in the weekend.
The Lady Tamaraws are also at 7-5 like the Falcons and idle University of Santo Tomas, as they all trail the second-running Bulldogs, who are more or less assured of a twice-to-beat privilege—if a Final Four will be played, or a first round bye if a stepladder semifinals is employed in the event of a La Salle sweep.
Adamson will be coming off a character straight-sets win over the Growling Tigresses over the weekend, which forged that third-place tie, and top gunner Shai Nitura is just grateful that she is getting help during this critical stage as the Falcons seek a return to the semifinals for the first time in three seasons.
Final assignments
“I am just thankful that everyone is stepping up,” Nitura said in Filipino as Adamson comes into the UP match the solid favorite with the Maroons missing Casiey Dongallo because of an injury.
As things stand, Adamson and Far Eastern will surely be parting ways as they have yet to square off in the second round. The Tams’ final assignment will be also-ran Ateneo.
Santo Tomas, meanwhile, has the Fighting Maroons and National U remaining, and the scenario of a tie for fourth seems to loom large with the winner of the Adamson-FEU match tabbing third seed, unless, of course, the Tigresses find a way to sweep their last two assignments and even gain a tie for No. 2 with the Bulldogs.
Should a Final Four be played, teams that fall into a tie for Nos. 2 and 3 will play a KO match for the second twice-to-beat slot. Teams also in a tie for Nos. 4 and 5 will also knock each other out.
