BY ABBY TORALBA
FAR Eastern University guns for a piece of history as the first No. 4 squad in the Final Four era to reach the Big Dance against top seed National University today in the 86th UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Coach Manolo Refugia, who took over the team this year, is giddy on the 29-time champion’s chances, as the Lady Tamaraws go at it with the Lady Bulldogs for one final time this season at 4 p.m.
“Kung sino man ang may gusto, kung sino man ang mataas ang pinaghuhugutan, kung sino talaga ang willing na manalo,” Refugia said of the Final Four decider.
University of Santo Tomas, FEU’s fabled rival in the sport, advanced to the best-of-three finals after outlasting De La Salle in five sets last Saturday.
The Lady Tamaraws, whose last title came in the 2007-08 season, last played in the championship round in 2018 when it lost to the Lady Spikers in two matches.
FEU hopes to pull it off this time, as in 2019, the Morayta-based squad, as the No. 4 team, dragged eventual champion Ateneo to a deciding Final Four match only to fall short of completing a reversal.
NU, which wanted so badly to advance to the title round, squandered its first chance.
The Lady Tamaraws turned to their usual reliables in Chenie Tagaod and Tin Ubaldo, as well as big games from Mitzi Panangin and libero Anne Monares to upend the Lady Bulldogs 25-23, 25-17, 25-23.
