THE UST Golden Spikers pulled off a historic upset against the top-seeded FEU Tamaraws, overcoming them in four sets, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24, in their knockout semifinals matchup in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, May 8.
With the win, UST became the first fourth-seeded team to eliminate the first seed and reach the finals in the UAAP Final Four era.
“I was actually a cheerleader earlier, not their coach,” UST head coach Odjie Mamon said postgame. “I let them play and they delivered,”
An 11-5 run in the opening salvo capped off by a Gboy de Vega crosscourt kill and a Rainer Flor block point propelled UST to an early 1-0 set advantage, 25-18.
In the second set, both teams recorded 13 attacks, but UST committed eight errors compared to FEU’s three. The set lasted for 40 minutes, and after a lengthy review on a play that resulted in a red card for De Vega and a yellow card for FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo, the Tamaraws went on a 5-1 run to tie the game at one set apiece, 25-21.
With the game tied 24-all in the third frame, De Vega converted consecutive off-the-block kills to give a 2-1 advantage to UST, 26-24.
The game remained tight in the fourth salvo as UST’s unsuccessful net fault challenge kept FEU’s hopes alive, 24-all.
Sherwin Umandal gave UST the match point followed by a finals-berth-clinching off-the-block kill from De Vega, 26-24.
“We fell short last season, pero siguro ngayon hindi na kami papayag na ganoon pa rin ‘yong magiging result,” reigning MVP Josh Ybañez said postgame. “Ang goal namin is mag-champion.”
Ybañez and De Vega paced the Golden Spikers with 19 and 18 points, respectively, while Umandal chipped in 16 points.
Saavedra led FEU with 20 points, while Jayjay Javelona and Andrei Delicana had 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The defending champions NU Bulldogs defeated the DLSU Green Spikers earlier in the day to book the first finals slot. With this, UST and NU will have a finals rematch for the second straight year.
The league has yet to announce the schedule for the men’s volleyball finals.
