MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo and Far Eastern University hacked out separate five-set wins Wednesday in the UAAP men’s volleyball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.
FEU recovered from a beating in the second and third sets to shut down University of Santo Tomas, 25-16, 13-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13, in the first game.
Karl Ian Dela Calzada had a game-best 23 points, all but two off kills, for the Tamaraws, who improved to 7-2 and built a one-game lead over Ateneo at number two.
Mark Gil Alfafara’s 22 points was for naught as the Golden Spikers dropped to 4-5 but stayed in fourth place.
The Blue Eagles, meanwhile, scored one anew over rival La Salle, 25-21, 26-28, 12-25, 25-19, 15-9, for a 6-3 card.
Marck Jesus Espejo, who notched a career-high the last time these two teams met, reprised the hero role and churned out 25 points.
The Green Archers drew a team-best 20 points from Raymark Woo, but they still couldn’t figure out a way to stun the Blue Eagles.
Ateneo also defeated La Salle in five sets last January 11.