FEU fends off UE to kickstart UAAP men’s volleyball bid

FEU Tamaraws in the UAAP Season 82 men’s volleyball tournament. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University had to dig a little deeper in the last set to beat University of the East, 25-10, 25-22, 25-23 to open the UAAP Season 82 volleyball competitions Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Rookie JJ Javelona played like a grizzly veteran and took matters into his own hands late, helping his team recover from a shaky showing in the third set.

With FEU trailing 21-23, Javelona put the Tamaraws on his back and delivered four unanswered points to put away the Red Warriors.

“I wanted the ball and told the team the game is far from over,” Javelona, who scored 11 points built on 10 attacks, told reporters in Filipino. “Fortunately for us, we were able to score in succession.”

“We did everything we could to get this game. We were in a bit of disarray in the third set but we were able to stay composed in the end,” he added.

Despite the late-game struggles, Tamaraws head coach Rey Diaz said he liked how his players responded to the challenge.

“UE was able to adjust and it took a while for us to adjust to it. The good thing about it is that we were able to learn from this game,” said Diaz, whose squad made the finals last season and got swept by National University.