STREAKING Ateneo guns for the first Final Four berth as it faces Far Eastern University today in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Currently the league’s hottest team with seven consecutive wins, the Lady Eagles are favored to prevail in their 4 p.m. clash with the Lady Tamaraws.
University of Santo Tomas goes up against already-eliminated Adamson University in the first game at 2 p.m.
A victory will sustain Ateneo’s (8-1) Final Four streak which started in the 2009-10 season.
Battle-tested setter Jia Morado was the glue that kept the Lady Eagles together in last Wednesday’s 25-10, 26-24, 28-26 win over the Tigresses.
Morado tossed in 27 excellent feeds, making life easier for Ateneo hitters Bea de Leon, Jho Maraguinot, Kat Tolentino, Michelle Morente and Ana Gopico.
Morado’s stellar play will be FEU’s main cause of concern if it wants to avenge its 19-25, 26-24, 25-19, 16-25, 11-15 loss in the first round.
Consistency has been a problem for the Lady Tamaraws, who are eyeing their third straight Final Four stint.
Locked in a four-way logjam from third to sixth places along with UST at 5-4, University of the Philippines and National University, FEU coach Shaq delos Santos wants his troops to go back to the basics.
“Sobrang importante ang first ball. Kasi once na naka-receive naman kami, walang problema sa set play. Kaya naming mag-place ng play,” said Delos Santos.
The Tigresses are expected to pull through against the Lady Falcons, who became the first team to be eliminated in the semifinals after going 0-9.
In the men’s division, three-peat seeking Ateneo, already in the playoffs with a 9-0 card, tries to boost its bid for an outright Finals berth against UST in the featured 10 a.m. match.
Games today
(Filoil Flying V Centre)
8 a.m. – UP vs UE (Men)
10 a.m. – UST vs ADMU (Men)
2 p.m. – UST vs AdU (Women)
4 p.m. – FEU vs ADMU (Women)