MANILA, Philippines—Far Eastern University had Ateneo all figured out for the second straight game.
The Lady Tamaraws leaned on their formidable blocking anew to stop the Lady Eagles, 24-26, 26-24, 25-20, 25-19, Sunday night and clinched the last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 Second Conference at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
It was FEU’s second win against Ateneo in a three-day span, and the Tamaraws, out of the semifinal picture for most of the tournament, now advance into a best-of-three duel for a title slot against top seed San Sebastian-Excelroof starting Thursday.
Adamson and Lyceum meet in the other semifinal duel.
By reaching the Final Four, the Lady Tamaraws actually made one of the biggest turnarounds in the league after a winless four-game stint in the first conference.
FEU coach Nes Pamilar’s ploy to move Michelle Carolino from center spiker to utility player worked wonders for the Lady Tamaraws as the former national team standout played a major role in neutralizing Ateneo’s attack.
Carolino, a member of the RP team that finished third in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, accounted for six of FEU’s 12 blocks and came away with 21 points.
Rachel Anne Daquis hammered home 22 points, none bigger than her left-handed smash that put the Lady Tamaraws at match point, 24-19, in the fourth set.
Cherry Vivas, moved from open hitter to center spiker, finished with 16 points, while Tiangco chipped in 13.
Scoring heavily on rookie setter Gyzelle Sy’s serve, the Tamaraws pulled away from 16-17 down to grab match point after back-to-back hits from Daquis. Vivas sealed the victory with an attack from the backline.
“It was a game of adjustments and we were able to adjust first,” said Pamilar, whose Tamaraws’ three-set victory last Thursday forged the do-or-die match.
Surasawadee Boonyuen finished with 21 points for the Lady Eagles, whose best local player, Fille Cainglet, struggled with 10.
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