ORDER RESTORED
National University (NU) wasted little time reclaiming its form, and order has been put back in place in Season 87 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament after the Lady Bulldogs took apart Far Eastern University (FEU) in four sets, 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 25-18, on Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Still licking their wounds from a stunning loss last Wednesday, the Bulldogs snuffed the fight out of the Lady Tamaraws after a gripping third set win, as a nine-point lead in the fourth had National rising to 9-1 while dropping Far Eastern to third at 6-4, half a game behind second-running La Salle.
Alyssa Solomon fired 30 points, her 26 attacks, three blocks and an ace leading the Lady Bulldogs back on the winning track in their hunt for a twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four that could prove critical in their title defense.
“We’re thankful because we were able to recover—which is really the most important thing right now,” NU coach Sherwin Meneses said, but not without swiftly recognizing that his charges’ trek is about to become steeper.
“We still have plenty of games left, and teams are beginning to read each other,” he went on.
If anything, the victory gives Meneses one less thing to worry about.
Solomon, with her season-best performance, is already looking primed for the knockout stages. The same could be said for reigning MVP Bella Belen, who turned in another triple-double with 18 points, 14 digs and 13 receptions.
Vange Alinsug was just as commendable, chipping in a double-double of 13 points and just as many receptions in the rebound win.
Faida Bakanke finished with 21 points for the Lady Tamaraws, who will have little room for error if they hope to stay comfortably within the qualifying threshold.
Maroons win again
Up next for NU is Adamson, which is coming off a loss to Ateneo. FEU, meanwhile, takes on a surging University of the Philippines (UP) side that hopes to crack the Final Four after winning only a single game last season after the Fighting Maroons earlier dismantled University of the East (UE), 25-21, 25-18, 25-17.
Anchored on Irah Jaboneta’s all-around play of 13 points, nine digs and eight excellent receptions, the Katipunan-based crew rose to 5-5 overall and kept themselves firmly in the hunt for a Final Four berth—a significant leap from last season’s one-win campaign.
Joan Monares chipped in 15 points, while Kassy Doering had eight as UP also turned in its first-ever straight-sets triumph in six years.
Yet, despite the dominant outing, which came after taking down defending champion National U, coach Benson Bocboc still saw a huge opportunity for improvement.
“We’re still a bit shaky,” he said in Filipino during the postmatch presser. “This is already the second round, and we can’t afford to be that shaky. We are still inconsistent with our passing, setting, and I just hope we get to be more organized in the next game.”
Bocboc also pointed out that UE’s struggles played a key role in the result, as the Lady Warriors repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with unforced errors.
“We won, but we have to consider that [UE] had plenty of errors. We didn’t just do this,” he said on the heels of the win that handed the Lady Warriors their 10th straight loss in a winless campaign.
Jaboneta, for her part, acknowledged this and stressed that the team must clean up its act as the games are now going to be stiffer from here on out.
