Lady Tamaraws ground Lady Eagles in 5 sets

FILE PHOTO – Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Far Eastern University went to work on a weekend and opened its campaign on a positive tune, edging Ateneo, 19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-9, in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Toni Rose Basas was instrumental in the Lady Tamaraws’ closeout of the fifth set scoring three straight service aces that put FEU up 12-9.

Bernadeth Pons then secured the 14-9 match point for FEU with a sneaky kill right before Kat Tolentino put too much power on her last hit that finished the match.

“This was a big morale boost for the players because this was our first time winning against Ateneo since Season 75,” said FEU head coach George Pascua, who’ll celebrate his 46th birthday on Monday, in Filipino.

FEU, though, started out flat in the fifth set falling behind 6-1 before Basas started hitting for the Lady Tamaraws.

Basas had a hand in forcing Jhoana Maraguinot to hit net that cut the deficit to 6-5 then the fourth year Lady Tamaraw tied the set at 7-7.

And although Maraguinot made up for her earlier mistake to give FEU a 9-7 lead, she would hit net in her service and Tolentino followed it up with another ball on the barrier that tied the set at 9-9.

“I told them that the fifth set doesn’t end at 6-1 and I know that these guys are mature enough and they know how to handle this situation,” said Pascua.

Basas and Pons had 14 points apiece to lead the Lady Tamaraws while Celine Domingo added 10.

Maraguinot had 21 points to lead the Lady Eagles while Tolentino added 14.