Lady Tamaraws send Tigresses reeling to third straight loss

FEU Lady Tamaraws vs UST Tigresses. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Far Eastern University took possession of the second seed after clobbering University of Santo Tomas, 25-16, 25-22, 25-20, in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The Lady Tamaraws ended their first round campaign with a 5-2 record and and will share the top 2 spot with either Ateneo or La Salle depending on the results of the second game.

The Golden Tigresses, meanwhile, continued to lose their luster as they dropped their third straight game and slipped to the seventh with a 2-5 record.

Although FEU didn’t build a considerable large lead in the third set, its pinch margins were enough to keep UST at bay.

UST’s last glimmer of hope was the 4-4 tie in the set after a double contact violation was called on FEU but the Lady Tamaraws immediately took a 7-4 lead off Toni Rose Basas’ service ace.

Jerrili Malaban then gave the Lady Tamaraws a 23-18 lead with an off-the-block kill and she also ended the match with a service that UST failed to send over.

FEU head coach George Pascua hoped his team can sustain their momentum for seven more games as he knows that the second round will be a little different than the first round.

“Hopefully we still have the momentum in the next seven games,” said Pascua in Filipino. “We still have a long road ahead of us, and after the first round all the teams have scouted each other.”

Pascua also commended his team’s minimal errors as the Lady Tamaraws’ gave away just 17 free points compared to 32 from their last game against National University.

“That’s an achievement for us because if we minimize our errors we know that the win will come easier for us,” said Pascua.

Basas and Celine Domingo led FEU with eight points apiece while Bernadeth Pons and Kyle Negrito combined for 14 points.

Cherry Rondina led the Golden Tigresses with 11 points but her offensive output against FEU was a far cry from her 23.33 points-per-game average prior to facing the Lady Tamaraws.