Green Spikers clip Falcons to seal semis berth

MANILA, Philippines – The La Salle Green Spikers clinched a Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament after securing a tough three-set victory over the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 26-24, 25-17, 25-23, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. 

JM Ronquillo led the Green Spikers to the win with 16 points off 13 attacks, two blocks and a service ace. 

La Salle took a five-point lead, 22-17, in the third set, but errors by Noel Kampton, Jules de Jesus and Ronquillo gave Adamson a chance, 20-22. 

Timely points by Ahmed Tahiluddin and an error by de Jesus kept Adamson alive in the third set, 23-24. 

De Jesus, however, ended the match with a cross-court kill to bag the victory for La Salle. 

Kampton and Vince Maglinao added 12 and 11, respectively, for La Salle.

No Soaring Falcon ended in double digits, as they were led by Jude Aguilar with nine markers. 

With the win, La Salle rose to 9-3, tying the defending champions National University Bulldogs for the second spot. 

The top two seeds will get the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.
 
In the second match, the top-seeded Far Eastern University Tamaraws thwarted the already-ran University of the East Red Warriors, 25-17, 17-25, 28-26, 25-19. 

With the two teams deadlocked at one set apiece, UE took a 26-25 lead in the third set. 

However, Martin Bugaoan and Andrei Delicana punched in back-to-back points to go back on top, 27-26. 

An error by Tebs Aligayon gave FEU the third set, 28-26. 

In the fourth set, the Tamaraws kept their distance throughout. A service ace by Benny Martinez that went down-the-line secured the victory. 

Dryx Saavedra led the charge for FEU with 16 points, while Bugaoan and Delicana each contributed 13 points.

Aligayon led the Red Warriors with 17 markers, while Angelo Reyes chipped in 15.

The Morayta-based squad rose to 11-1, strengthening their hold to the top spot of the tourney, while UE dropped to 1-11.