FAR Eastern University bounced back from a tough five-set defeat the last time out by beating University of Perpetual Help yesterday 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-16 to get back into the thick of things in the V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena in Manila yesterday.
The Tams toughened up on defense to put one over the Altas, finishing with 13 blocks, including three from Lirick Mendoza and two from Dryx Saavedra.
“‘Yung kapit na pinakita namin nung dulo (against Ateneo), ‘yun ‘yung ginawa namin,” said FEU coach Ed Orcullo, whose wards rallied from 2-0 set down to force a decider against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, only to lose momentum on shaky service reception and yield a 22-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 13-15 decision last Sunday.
FEU moved into a tie with its victim at 2-2 behind Ateneo’s unblemished 3-0 card with UST, National U and La Salle all toting 2-1 slates in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
Saavedra took charge for FEU in the fourth that saw the Tams pull away from a tight 12-10 count on a decisive 13-6 with Mendoza ending the match with a kill block.
Saavedra added four digs on top of his 20-point explosion.
Klint Mateo, who did double duty in setting and spiking, paced the Altas with 13 points and three excellent sets while Mike Medalla and Jeff Marapoc added 10 markers each for the Las Piñas-based squad.
University of Santo Tomas kept rolling after an opening game stumble, beating Emilio Aguinaldo College, 25-18, 25-19, 25-19, in men’s action to wrest solo second behind unbeaten Ateneo (3-0) with a 3-1 card.
Josh Ybañez unleashed a 19-point performance to power the Golden Spikers to their third straight victory after yielding to the La Salle side last Aug 18. The UAAP Season 85 MVP delivered 13 attacks, four blocks and two aces.
Despite the victory, UST head coach Odjie Mamon challenged his wards to do better, saying, “We’re still working on the new system. Marami pang kulang, tapos nag-slide back sila. We have to work harder.”
The Golden Spikers, who earlier downed the National U Bulldogs and the Perpetual Help Altas, actually leaned on their net defense majority of the way, finishing with 10 kill blocks with Paul Colinares anchoring their gutsy stand at the middle and ended with four blocks on top of five attack points.
Jan Abor paced EAC with 12 points while coming off the bench and Ervin Osabel added 10 markers for the Generals, who fell to 0-4.
