UAAP volleyball: Adamson upsets FEU for first win

Adamson pulled off a thrilling stunner over Far Eastern University, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-12, for its first win in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Lady Falcons, who experienced a 13-game skid in Season 79 before winning their final game in the preliminaries, are now tied with the Lady Tamaraws with a 1-1 record.

After Jema Galanza put Adamson at match point, 14-10 bubble with a two-handed dump, the Lady Tamaraws were able to close in after an error from the Lady Tamaraws and a point from Bernadeth Pons , 14-12.

After Adamson head coach Air Padda called time to calm her team’s nerves, Galanza then dealt the final blow straight to the open spot in FEU’s defense.

Padda said the win against the Lady Tamaraws is crucial as the early victory will be key in building their confidence for the rest of the tournament.

“The coaches knew we needed this first win, this will be our confidence booster,” said Padda. “We were pretty evenly matched with FEU, and our game plan is centered around [Bernadeth] Pons because she’s one of the deadliest in the UAAP.”

Padda’s scheme saw Pons put up 22 points but FEU’s captain labored for that mark as she converted just 21 of her 65 spike attempts.

“Kudos to FEU down the stretch, we just beat them in a couple of areas.”

Galanza led all sorers with 26 points for Adamson while Mylene Paat and Joy Dacoron combined for 25 points.

Chiara Permentilla also finished in double figures for the Lady Falcons with 11 points.

Toni Rose Basas had 18 points to complement Pons’ scoring for the Lady Tamaraws.