UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Defending champion University of Santo Tomas, La Salle and National University booked their tickets to the UAAP Season 84 men’s beach volleyball Final Four on Sunday at Sands By The Bay.
Green Spikers Noel Campton and Vince Maglinao took down Adamson University’s Francis Casas and Ned Pacquing, 21-14, 21-13, to become the first team to reach the Final Four round, winning four of their five matches to surpass their previous two-win season in 2019.
“To be honest, we didn’t expect to have this standing. Our goal is to stay focus and execute the game plan of our coaches,” said Kampton, a freshman out of University of Perpetual Help high school.
UST and NU joined La Salle in the Final Four by completing a sweep of their Sunday matches as the three schools led the tournament with identical 4-1 records.
Tiger Spikers Efraem Dimaculangan and Rancel Varga swept Far Eastern University, 21-14, 21-13, and Adamson, 21-9, 21-6, to extend their win streak to four games.
NU’s James Buytrago and Pol Salvador also captured their fourth win to four after beating Ateneo, 21-16, 21-17, and FEU, 21-16, 21-23.
University of the Philippines’ Dan Nicolas and Louis Gamban kept its Final Four hopes alive, ending their three-game skid with a 21-15, 21-14, victory over Ateneo’s Abai Llenos and Amil Pacinio, to improve to 2-3.
Ateneo had a winless day, failing to clinch its entry to the next round as it dropped to a 3-3 record.
FEU, which fielded Martin Bugaoan for Vincent Nadera and teamed up with Jelord Talisayan, bid farewell to its Final Four hopes after sliding to a 1-4 card.
Adamson also made a substitution with Pacquing replacing Aaron Mirador during their game against UST. But the team remained winless in five matches.
Games resume on Friday starting at 9 a.m., which features the last day of the elimination round with La Salle facing UST, UP taking on FEU, and Adamson battling NU.