FAR Eastern University forced a rubber match for a finals berth as it dominated Adamson University, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24, on Tuesday in the Shakey's V-League Season 11 First Conference at The Arena in San Juan.
Bernadette Pons came up with 16 points as the Lady Tamaraws won the second match of the best-of-three semis in straight sets after losing the opener in five.
Guest players Rachel Anne Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga had 15 and 14, respectively, for FEU, which is looking to reach the V-League finals for the first time.
“Sabi ko sa mga bata, ang laki ng chance na binigay sa atin kaya ’wag natin pakawalan at i-grab natin ang opportunity, sayang naman,” said FEU coach Shaq de los Santos.
Down by two, 22-24, Bhebs Pineda gave Adamson some hope, coming up with back-to-back hits to tie the game at 24.
But Geneveve Casugod scored on a spike to position the Lady Tams at second match point, 25-24, and Pineda handed FEU the win after a hit that went wide.
The Morayta-based Lady Tamaraws earned points with their defense at the net, registering 10 block points, while the Lady Falcons had five.
“No. 1 talaga ang depensa. Sabi ko sa mga bata na talo tayo sa tibay ng depensa ng Adamson sa Game One," said delos Santos.
“Kailangan pumantay tayo, ’di tayo mananalo kung puro atake lang. Kaya may adjustment kami sa block kay Pineda. Good thing nag click naman, thank God."
“Wala kasi mangyayari kung hindi kami de-depensa eh,” he added.
Pineda finished with 15 markers, Thai reinforcement Pacharee Sangmuang had 12 points, and Pau Soriano added 10 for Adamson.
The decider is set at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
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