UAAP final four

MANILA, Philippines - A fter three months and 56 matches of intense action spiked by the all-out efforts and unforgettable performances of heroines old and new, the merry chase for the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tiara is down to four teams.

Rivals Ateneo and La Salle – the most dominant sides the last six years – and University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern – the winningest women’s volleyball squads in history – feature in the season’s Final Four set-up brimming with electricity and drama.

The Lady Eagles, who more than proved there’s life after Alyssa Valdez by soaring to No. 1 for the third straight season, take on fourth-seeded FEU Lady Tams, a tough-as-nails customer that pushed AdMU to a pair of five-set encounters in the elims.

On the other side of the draw, the No. 3 Lady Spikers, with Kim Kianna Dy and Kim Fajardo taking the cudgels in the post-Mika Reyes and Ara Galang era, collide with EJ Laure, Sisi Rondina and the Tigresses, a hungry pack bent on making the most of their first semis stint in four years.

Defending champion DLSU and 2016 runner-up AdMU set out to renew their storied rivalry and forge a high-profile showdown for the coveted crown for the sixth straight year.

Underdogs FEU and UST, however, want to stage a different championship scenario.

Although the Lady Tams and the Tigresses own the most women’s volleyball titles overall with 29 and 15, respectively, they have taken the backseat to AdMU-DLSU the past few years and haven’t tasted triumph since Seasons 70 and 72, respectively.

Ateneo

Ateneo playmaker Julia Morado said that the top-seeded Lady Eagles remain wary of a dangerous Far Eastern University side in their Final Four clash in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on April 23.

The Katipunan-based squad swept the No. 4 Lady Tamaraws in their elimination encounters but not before going through five-set scares each time.

“FEU is a really strong team. Both our meetings in the eliminations are five-setters so we really need to prepare,” said Morado.

The fourth year setter emphasized that the strength of Ateneo this year lies on its teamwork as chief tactician Tai Bundit sees to it each player, whether she’s a regular starter or bench player, is ready when called to action.

“We don’t rely only on one person. In training, we don’t stay with a solid core. Coach makes it a point to use everyone in training so when we come to the game, we will always be ready to play,” said Morado.

To illustrate this point, Ateneo opted to rest ace hitter Jhoana Maraguinot in AdMU’s last two assignments. They posted a routine win over University of the East then next game against rival La Salle, seldom-used rookie Jules Samonte stepped up in Maraguinot’s absence to help the Lady Eagles beat the Lady Spikers and claim the No. 1 ranking.

La Salle

Top hitter Kim Dy believes defending champion La Salle’s four-set heartbreaker to arch rival Ateneo last weekend will serve as a rallying point when they face a surging University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball Final Four on April 22 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Of course, it affected us but we are doing our best to not let it pull us down. Instead, we use it as a motivating factor to do better and play better,” said Dy, whose team dominated Ateneo in the opening set but faltered in the next three to settle for No. 2.

The Lady Spikers will take on the No. 3 Tigresses, whom they defeated twice in the elims but who are brimming with confidence after barging into the Final Four for the first time since 2012.

“We still need to adjust because other teams are also adjusting to their opponents. Beating them twice doesn’t really make any difference. It’s a whole new ball game. Anything can happen so we must always give our 101 percent,” said last season’s Finals MVP.

Together with Ateneo against Far Eastern U, La Salle is armed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals but Dy said they would rather have a “do-or-die” mindset when they tangle with UST for a return trip to the finals.

Last year, the Lady Spikers nearly blew that semis edge but pulled through in the rubber match to stop the Lady Tams on their way to bagging the crown.

“We believe there is no room for complacency. We will do our best this time around as we have learned from the past,” said Dy.

UST

Elated after helping fulfill head coach Kungfu Reyes’ vow to bring University of Santo Tomas back to the Final Four, skipper Cherry Rondina said they are setting their sights on a bigger dream – the championship.

But the España-based school will pass through the proverbial eye of the needle to accomplish the mission, that is, beating defending champion La Salle not once but twice in their Final Four faceoff.

“Our first aim was to make it to the Final Four. Now that we are here, we will dream bigger. But we will really work hard for that. Siyempre, gusto rin naming makatikim ng ginto (Of course, we also want to get a taste of the crown),” said Rondina, whose team struggled in the early going of the elims but charged back to stay in the title hunt.

The diminutive but high-flying, crisp-hitting Rondina knows that they have to work doubly hard to get the job done since they would be facing a fired-up La Salle crew with a twice-to-beat incentive and raring to complete a back-to-back title feat.

The third year UST sparkplug said they would rather not be overwhelmed by their late surge but would just work as a team with a mind-set of winning the championship.

With their morale-boosting entry into the semis, a first since Season 74, the Tigresses are doubling up their preparations while vowing to give their all.

“La Salle is La Salle. Everyone knows how they play. We just need to work hard to get the victory,” said Rondina.

FEU

Unfazed by Ateneo’s twice-to-beat edge, Far Eastern U believes it has what it takes to upend the top-ranked team.

In fact, the No. 4 Lady Tamaraws’ do-it-all outside hitter Bernadeth Pons will be doubly motivated in their upcoming duel tipped to go the way it did in their two face-offs in the elims.

“What happened last year will serve as a lesson and as a motivation for us to work hard and give our best until we make it to the finals,” said Pons, referring to their semis setback to the La Salle Lady Spikers last year where they also wound up No. 4 in the elims, stunned the eventual champions in their first meeting but fell short in the decider.

This time, they are ready for a big turnaround.

Though FEU succumbed to Ateneo in two hard-fought five-setters in the elims, Pons is confident and excited in their third face-off with the Loyola-based squad this season, saying the Lady Tams have learned a lot and will bounce back strong from those twin setbacks.

“We just fell short in the fifth set. We were able to learn from that and I am certain that this time, it won’t happen again,” said Pons.

The fourth year stalwart admits that tackling fancied Ateneo won’t be an easy task but stressed that for as long as they believe in themselves, work hard and help each other, they are sure to overcome their first opponents – themselves.

“Of course, it won’t be easy for us. We need to work hard for each and every point. We have to be more courageous because our first opponent is ourselves. We just have to help each other and we will prevail,” said Pons.