January 12, 10:20 p.m. – DESPITE a fierce comeback in the third set, the Tiger Spikers lost the bid to remain undefeated, faltering to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in a hair-raising five-set match, 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 13-15, at the San Juan Arena earlier today.
The España-based tossers managed to stay alive and grab hold of the third frame as Harby Ilano delivered crucial strikes down the line that kept UST up by a point and eventually take the set, 25-22.
Early on, the black-gold-white spikers were sprawling from the attacks of FEU’s Karl dela Calzada and frontline swipes of Rodolfo Labrador to claim the first two sets, 21-25 and 23-25.
UST opened the final set leading by two, 7-5, but Labrador’s relentless frontline attacks proved too much for the Tiger Spikers to handle, finally folding in the fifth frame, 13-15.
Ilano and Salvador Depante III topped for UST with 19 points apiece. Labrador topscored for FEU with a game high of 24 points.
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Spikers also stained their records after bowing down to a pesky De La Salle University via three sets, 20-25, 19-25, 12-25, tonight.
Unyielding, the España-based spikers opened the third canto with back-to-back kills from Aiza Maizo, 3-4, but witty shots from La Salle’s Abigail Maraño allowed for a bigger lead, 5-7.
Maruja Banaticla eased the pain for UST with a clever hit that went through the block of Stephanie Mercado and Charleen Cruz, 6-8. But the unrelenting Taft-based squad carved a 5-0 run, 6-12, to destroy UST’s momentum.
Maizo vied for a fourth set as she played the hero’s role for the Lady Spikers with her down-the-line shots, 10-17, but La Salle solidified the set with a 7-0 streak, 12-25.
Maizo topscored for UST with 16 points while Maraño chalked up 13 points for La Salle. Angelo Nonato P. Cabrera and Anne Marie Carmela L. Dayauon
