La Salle whips FEU, seals Ateneo faceoff

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

LA SALLE made sure no other team spoils its usual UAAP championship date with fierce rival Ateneo.

Rebounding from last game’s heartbreak, the Lady Spikers took the grit out of Far Eastern University in straight sets, 25-15, 27-25, 25-21, to clinch the last title berth in the women’s volleyball tournament Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“At least we can sleep now,” said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus after his Lady Spikers foiled the Lady Tamaraws’ upset bid in the do-or-die match to book an eighth straight Finals appearance.

La Salle again came out dominating early, but unlike in Sunday’s match—where they folded in a 15-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21,16-14 decision—the Lady Spikers arrested the Lady Tamaraws’ fightback behind Ara Galang, Mika Reyes, Kim Dy and Kim Fajarado.

“That’s the situation I wanted to see in the team,” said De Jesus. “We were down, but we held on.”

The fifth straight title showdown between the  two glamour teams bannered by the league’s two most popular players—Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez and La Salle’s Mika Reyes—gets going at 4 p.m. this Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Our players want to prove something,” said De Jesus.

National University also advanced to the Finals for the fourth straight season after downing Adamson, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23, in the  men’s winner-take-all semifinal match.

“In the first set, we didn’t know what to do because our opponent was so aggressive,” said NU coach Dante Alinsunurin after his No. 2 Bulldogs rose from a set down. “So I told the players that we should slow it down, bring it to a pace we’re comfortable with.”

Game 1 kicks off this Saturday at 12 noon also at the Big Dome.

James Natividad fired 15 points, including back-to-back aces that put the Bulldogs up, 22-21, in the fourth set. 

The Lady Spikers dominated the first set, 25-15, but also showed sheer will in the extended second set where they came back from an 18-22 deficit behind Reyes and Demecillo.

Down two sets to none, FEU battled to within 23-21 in the third set before La Salle finished it off with a Galang smash and a Fajardo ace.