Spearheaded by the power-hitting Cherry Rose Macatangay, the Lady Falcons finished behind unbeaten De La Salle at the close of the elims with a 5-2 (win-loss) slate, hoping to open their semis bid on a high note against a team it has some ax to grind with.
FEU, one of the only two teams which beat Adamson in the qualifiers, is coming off a hard-earned 25-18, 32-20, 24-26, 25-16 victory over Lyceum at the start of the semis Friday.
"They’re a hardworking team, that’s why they beat us in our first meeting," said Adamson coach Dulce Pante in Filipino. "Hopefully, we can beat them this time."
Against Lyceum, FEU used a rock solid net defense and superb court coverage while leaning on Rachel Daquis and skipper Mary Ann Manalo in offense to pound out the victory.
Gametime is at 5 p.m. Tickets are pegged at P50 (ringside) and P30 (lower box) while the bleacher section is free. Games are aired every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday starting at 4:30 p.m. on ABC-5.
The comely Daquis fired 23 hits, including 19 on kills, while Manalo tossed 20 points to power FEU to solo third spot in the event presented by Shakey’s Pizza and organized by Sports Vision.
"If we can play solid defense and work harder, we’ll have a chance of beating Adamson again," said FEU mentor Florentino "Kit" Santos, who steered the Morayta-based school to the Torribio Cup title recently and University Games crown last year.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian and Lyceum, tied for fourth with 4-4 cards, collide at 3 p.m. The Lady Stags took a 2-0 set lead against the Lady Archers Friday but failed to hang on, enabling the Taft-based spikers to score a come-from-behind 21-25, 23-25, 25-9, 25-21, 15-5 victory.
It was La Salle’s eighth straight triumph as it firmed up its hold of the top spot. The two finishers after the double round semis will dispute the crown although a team outside of the top two which wins five of its eight games will get a crack at the second finals berth.