‘NU’ surprises this time.
National U is back in the finals for the fourth straight season after putting away Far Eastern University in five sets, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, and 17-15, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball Final Four on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It took everything and more for the Lady Bulldogs to avoid a dreaded encore of last year’s semifinals where they dropped their series opener before taking full advantage of their twice-to-beat bonus to eliminate the Lady Tamaraws once and for all.
Gerz Petallo and Jaz Ellarina formed a youthful one-two punch that gave the green-and-gold an early 2-0 edge — a set away from replicating their surprising feat exactly a year ago.
But the reigning titlists won’t be denied an outright finals-clinching win for a second straight season, as NU’s 'Big 3' in Bella Belen (24 points), Alyssa Solomon (21 points), and Vange Alinsug (18 points) pulled off a late-game takeover to snatch the win away.
Belen went above and beyond with 14 digs and 10 receptions to complete a stellar triple-double along with Alinsug's eight digs and 14 receptions.
"Lagi lang naman kasi naming sinasabi na 'di naman natatapos yung game kung mananalo ng one set or two sets. Hangga't di pa natatapos yung game, may chance pa kaming lumaban," Belen said.
"Malaki yung tiwala ko sa teammates ko na kaya naming ipanalo yung game kahit ano mang score o kung ilang set man."
For her part, Solomon showcased her signature flair on offense when it mattered most in the endgame to put the Lady Tamaraws away.
"Nahirapan kami mag-start and nu'ng third set, ang mindset ko na nu'n, parang kailangan talaga naming makuha 'tong set na 'to kasi wala na, next game ulit [kung sakaling matalo]. One point at a time. One point at a time palagi," Solomon added.
From surviving a closely-contested third set to grabbing an eight-point lead in the fourth, the Lady Bulldogs sealed a brewing reverse-sweep by storming past a shell-shocked FEU side in sudden-death.
NU's reverse sweep completes season sweep
This completes a treble of victories for the Jhocson side this season over Morayta following a five-set first-round escape then a four-set second-round win.
As such, NU earned a second shot to complete a title defense after failing to retain the crown back in Season 85.
With a sixth crown in sight, the Lady Bulldogs also claimed the chance to add to its recent trail of history, as a title win this season will be the third time in the last four years that it converted a top-seed prelims finish into a championship.
Brave until the end
Meanwhile, the chase for a 30th UAAP women’s volleyball crown — the Lady Tams’ ever-elusive goal for 17 years now — has been stopped dead in its tracks once more in the Final Four.
Faida Bakanke's 15-piece and Jaz Ellarina's 14 showed the way for the Morayta side in a seething defeat behind ace scorer Gerz Petallo's triple-double of 14 points, 14 receptions and 13 digs.
Returning FEU head coach Tina Salak is expected to match her predecessor-turned-deputy Manolo Refugia’s breakthrough fourth-place finish last Season 86.
In both campaigns, tallying nine elimination round wins wasn’t enough to arm themselves with a twice-to-beat bonus and a potential step forward in the hunt for No. 30.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
