Falcons’ clash with Warriors carries a lot of Final Four implications
Adamson University is heavily favored to seal a first winning streak in the 88th Season of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday when it battles lowly University of the East, but more than winning two games for the first time, the Soaring Falcons are out to gain a temporary inside track to the last slot to the Final Four.
Tied with idle University of Santo Tomas at 5-4 for fourth spot and just a game up on University of the Philippines, a win in their 11 a.m. clash at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion will give the Falcons some breathing room heading into the final three weeks of the elimination round and even a shot at contending for No. 2 ranking.
As things stand, La Salle is unbeaten after nine games and has practically wrapped up top seeding and the first twice-to-beat advantage with defending champion National University and Far Eastern tied for second at 6-3.
The Bulldogs and the Lady Tamaraws and the Falcons will all still meet later on in the second round, making for an interesting race for No. 2. The Golden Tigresses are still in the mix, provided they get their acts together and also start winning games in a string.
In the event that the Lady Spikers complete an elimination round sweep, the stepladder semifinals will be put in place, making a second-place finish critical since No. 2 will enjoy the benefit of rest as Nos. 3 and 4 battle it out first.
Adamson, bannered by the prolific Shaina Nitura, is also going to use this outing to address some flaws in its game, some of which were evident in a 25-17, 27-25, 25-16 victory over erratic Ateneo last Wednesday.
“We need to develop that character of the players during games,” Adamson coach JP Yude said in Filipino after that triumph over the Blue Eagles. “I’m satisfied that we won, but there are challenges that we will encounter every game and we need to be aware of those.”
Adamson hasn’t made a Final Four since finishing third three seasons ago.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will try to wriggle out of that tie with the Lady Tams later when they battle the Eagles in the 5 p.m. game.
National U, which is holding fort even after the graduation of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon at the end of last season, is also fancied to prevail and like the others in the chasing pack, would want to have an inside track at No. 2 to have the easiest time in the stepladder in the event that La Salle completes a sweep.
