Lady Falcons, Tams force PVL sudden-death semis

MANILA, Philippines – Adamson and Far Eastern University got back at separate foes to force sudden-death maches for the coveted final berths in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Collegiate Conference.

The top-seeded Lady Falcons – stunned by the No. 4 University of the Philippines in in the opener of their best-of-three semifinal series last Wednesday – flashed their old form and dominated the Lady Maroons from start to finish to complete a 25-23, 25-19, 25-21 romp in Game 2 on Saturday, September 1 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

UP put up one last stand at 19-21 in the third and battled Adamson in a couple of long rallies but yielded the set and the game in the end with the Lady Falcons clinching the win on their rivals’ error and an easy hit on UP’s poor service reception.

Earlier, the Lady Tamaraws rallied from a set down to thwart the University of Santo Tomas, 22-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-20, and likewise force a Game 3 in their side of the semis duel. 

The four teams will have barely a rest as they slug it out again Sunday, September 2, with Adamson and UP facing off one last time at 2 p.m. and FEU and UST tangling at 4 p.m. with the winners disputing the crown in another best-of-three series starting Wednesday.

The Lady Tams actually blew the Tigresses with a fiery 9-0 binge in the opening set but lost in the face of the latter’s strong comeback. But the Morayta-based school, with Celine Domingo on the firing end, reasserted their might in the next two frames then warded off their rivals’ rally in the fourth to pound out the victory.

Domingo came through with 9 attack points, 6 kill blocks and 4 aces while Jerrili Malabanan scored all her 17 hits on kills to power the Lady Tams to the series-tying victory.

UST – which also fought back from a set down to take the opener of their best-of-three series, 16-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-23 – drew a lone double-digit output from Milena Alessandrini, who scored 13 points.

“We executed out game play well. We worked on our service and reception and hopefully, it will be the same in Game Three,” said FEU coach George Pascua.

In men’s semifinals, UST fended off Adamson in a marathon four-set duel, carving out a 25-18, 25-22, 16-25, 32-30 victory, while FEU rallied from an opening set setback to stun top seed National U, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-23, in the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

 Jayvee Sumagaysay blasted in 19 points, including 6 kill blocks, while Joshua Umandal, Manuel Medina and Genesis Redido added 18, 17 and 12 points, respectively, for the Tigers, who also drew 18 excellent receptions from Medina.

Bryan Bagunas fired 22 points while rookie Angelo Almendras and Madzlan Gampong combined for 21 points for the Bulldogs.

The Tams, meanwhile, kept the momentum of their playoff win last Wednesday for the last semis berth as Mark Calado spearheading the charge with 16 points off 13 kills and two kill blocks. John Paul Bugaoan and Redijohn Paler backed him up with 13 markers each.

UST and FEU go for the clinchers on Wednesday. – Rappler.com