TWO skidding teams look to finally get back on track and enter the playoffs as Adamson University and Far Eastern University clash on Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan for a place in the stepladder semifinals of the 76th UAAP women's volleyball tournament.
Both teams wasted chances to claim the fourth spot in the semifinals during the last stretch of the eliminations, with the Lady Falcons losing losing back-to-back matches and the Lady Tamaraws going on a three-game slide.
Now the two teams collide at 4 p.m. for the right to face third seed Ateneo de Manila in the first phase of the stepladder semifinals.
National University is waiting in second spot with a twice-to-beat advantage in the second phase, with three-time defending champion La Salle armed with a thrice-to-beat edge in the finals.
The last time Adamson and FEU met was on February 5, when the Lady Falcons beat the Lady Tamaraws in four sets.
That forged a tie for fourth spot, but neither team managed to win in their next assignments.
Adamson lost a four-setter to an already-eliminated University of Santo Tomas side on Saturday, leaving the door ajar for Far Eastern University.
But the Lady Tamaraws could not overcome the third-seeded Lady Eagles on the final elimination match on Sunday, bowing in three quick sets.
Adamson and FEU ended the eliminations with 6-8 win-loss records.
"Hindi ko masabi kung ano 'yung nangyari, ganoon talaga may talo may panalo," Lady Falcons coach Sherwin Meneses after the loss to UST. "Syempre nafu-frustrate kami (sa sitwasyon)."
Now a tough battle is expected between the offense of Adamson and the tall wall of FEU.
Bhebs Pineda, second-highest scorer of the league with 254 points next to Alyssa Valdez of Ateneo at 269, is expected to deliver the usual numbers but will need to get contributions from the other Lady Falcons.
But it could be quite tough when the FEU defense gets going, led by Geneveve Casugod, the league's second best-defender at the net with 39 won blocks, next to University of the Philippines' Kathy Bersola (42).
The stepladder semifinals start on Saturday.
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