Red Warriors edge Maroons to join win column; Tamaraws sweep Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines -- Winless no more.

The University of the East Red Warriors completed a comeback against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 25-21, 19-25, 28-30, 27-25, 15-12 in a gritty five-set win in the UAAP Season 86 men's volleyball tournament Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

In a battle of winless squads, UE came up on top after trailing two sets to one.

UP looked poised to grab its win of the season after going up 23-22 in the fourth set after a down-the-line hit by Angelo Lagando.

Joshua Pozas and Tebs Aligayon then teamed up to help UE go up 24-23.

The two teams went to an extended set, and ultimately, the Red Warriors forced the decider, 27-25.

In the final set, UE showed its composure and went up, 7-3.

The Diliman-based squad then cut the lead to one, 6-7, but UE fought their way to a set point, 14-10 thanks to a point by Axel Defeo.

After back-to-back points by UP, Nino Bersano’s service came up short, giving the victory to the Recto-based squad.

Aligayon and Defeo had 21 points each for UE, while Angelo Reyes and Pozas finished with 15.

Lagando had 26 big points for UP, but it was not enough to tow the Fighting Maroons to the victory.

The Fighting Maroons are going to the second round with a 0-7 record, while the Red Warriors rose to 1-6.

Earlier in the day, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws finished the first round with a bang after sweeping the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19.

Martin Bugaoan, Dryx Saavedra and Lirick Mendoza had 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

FEU is now holding a share of the top spot with the NU Bulldogs with a 6-1 slate.

Ateneo dropped to 3-4.