UAAP Volleyball: FEU men punch ticket for the Finals

The Far Eastern University Tamaraws booked a return trip to the Finals after trouncing the De La Salle University Green Archers 23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 26-24, Wednesday, in their winner-take-all match in the 74th UAAP men’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.   “A win is still a win although sinasabi nga na medyo kontrobersiyal, pero nakita naman dun sa tape na talagang outside. At saka masaya kami dahil may nakabalik na naman kami sa finals,” said FEU coach George Pascua.   Team skipper Rodolfo Labrador Jr. top-scored for the Tamaraws once more with 20 points, including 19 hits, while teammate Kirk Biliran added 17 markers.   On the Green Archers side, four players finished in double digits, led by John Kevin de la Vega with 15 points, He was followed by Christopher Antonio, who notched 12, while Red Christensen and Carlo Rivera added 10 points each.   “Malungkot kasi natalo kami pero I’m so proud of my team sa kanilang ipinakitang performance lalo na sa second round hanggang dito sa Final Four dahil talagang tumaas ng tumaas ang level ng kanilang laro,”said La Salle coach Sammy Acaylar. Game officials needed to review the video recording of the game after the last call by first referee Lumer Pajarillo on the last hit made by Red Christensen before they formally awarded the win to FEU.   The Green Archers, who finished fourth in the eliminations, forced a do-or-die match upon beating the top-seeded Tamaraws at the start of their Final Four duel last Sunday. FEU will now prepare themselves to face the second-seeded University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers for the title, after the latter dispatched the Adamson Falcons in four sets. - AMD, GMA News