IT all goes down to two playdates to decide the Final Four pairings and the twice-to-beat teams in the UAAP Season 86 women's volleyball tournament.
Forming this year's cast of semifinalists are defending champion La Salle, last season's runner-up National University, joint-league leader University of Sto. Tomas and a red-hot Far Eastern University side.
Having won their last five matches, the Lady Tamaraws will be the fourth seeds in their first Final Four appearance in five years. Their role in the twice-to-beat race, however, will be of utmost importance as they'll have a chance to deny the Lady Bulldogs a top two finish on Wednesday.
READ: What Belen, Solomon learned from two years of NU volleyball renaissance
Once the dust settles on a pivotal NU-FEU matchup, Saturday's prelims finale showdown between UST and La Salle will ultimately shape the course of the Final Four starting next week.
Here's how each of the three twice-to-beat-seeking sides can grab the coveted semis bonus to finish off what has been two exhilirating months of preliminaries action.
NU (11-2; 33 points)
Game remaining: FEU (Apr. 24)
Among the three contending sides for a top two finish, NU has inside track not only on a twice-to-beat advantage but also the top seed.
All it will take for the Lady Bulldogs to land at least a top two spot is to defeat FEU in their final elimination-round match.
A three or four-sets win for the maximum three-match point haul will also give NU a comfortable margin should there be a tie for first place with the winner of the UST-La Salle match that will also improve to a 12-2 (win-loss) card.
Moreover, if a prospective top-seed tie goes down to head-to-head records, NU has the upper hand over La Salle but trails UST.
NU won in four sets versus La Salle in Round 2 whereas La Salle took five sets to outlast NU in Round 1. Meanwhile, NU similarly took a four-sets win over UST in Round 2 but dropped its season-opening Round 1 match to UST in three sets.
But if FEU beats NU on Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs will face the loser of Saturday's UST-La Salle match in a one-game playoff for the No. 2 seed to decide which team takes the last twice-to-beat advantage.
LA SALLE (11-2; 32 points)
Game remaining: UST (Apr. 27)
There couldn't have been a more climactic way to finish off the preliminaries than through a high-stakes showdown between La Salle and UST.
Back in February, the Tigresses dodged a late meltdown from two sets up in Round 1 to deal the defending champions their first loss of the season.
Ahead of their rematch, the Lady Spikers might still be without at least one or both of their ace spikers in reigning MVP Angel Canino (arm) and Baby Jyne Soreño (shoulder). Both have no definite timetable for their comebacks from injuries.
The stakes for the upcoming UST-La Salle match will depend on the result of the NU-FEU match three days prior.
Should NU beat FEU, the winner of the UST-La Salle match will finish in the top two while the loser will drop to third place. But if NU loses to FEU, the winner of the UST-La Salle match will clinch the top seed while the loser will play NU in a one-game playoff for the second seed.
UST (11-2; 31 points)
Game remaining: La Salle (Apr. 27)
Having led most of the way in the elimination round following an 8-0 start to the season, UST still has a golden opportunity to seize twice-to-beat advantage.
And as is the case with La Salle, the NU-FEU match will play a huge part in deciding how the Final Four pairings will play out.
With UST drawing first blood in its head-to-head matchup against La Salle this season, a chance to pounce on a potentially undermanned Lady Spikers side may pave the way for UST to secure a twice-to-beat advantage and its first top-seed finish since Season 60 in 1997.
An NU win over FEU will sets up a winner-take-all UST-La Salle match for the last twice-to-beat incentive whereas an NU loss to FEU leads to a battle for the top seed between UST and La Salle which will see the loser play NU in a one-off for the No. 2 seed.
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