SCORE. La Salle's JM Ronquillo scores against Adamson's Marc Kenneth Paulino (No. 12) and Jude Christian Aguilar (No. 1) during the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on April 17, 2024. The Green Spikers won, 26-24, 25-17, 25-23. (UAAP photo)
MANILA – De La Salle University defeated Adamson University, 26-24, 25-17, 25-23, to secure a semifinal berth in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
The Green Spikers also boosted their hopes of earning the twice-to-beat incentive for having the same record as the National University Bulldogs at 9-3 for second place.
“Happy naman. Ito naman siguro 'yung pinaghahandaan namin after last season. Still, somehow hindi pa rin kami ganon kakumbinsido. We’ll try our best na matapos namin 'yung last two games nang maayos (I'm happy. This is probably what we are preparing for after last season. Still, somehow, we are not that convinced. We'll try our best to finish the last two games well)," La Salle head coach Jose Roque said after the one hour and 32-minute match.
The Green Spikers lost a 21-17 advantage in the third set due to errors, allowing the Soaring Falcons to move within 20-22.
Adamson made it 23-24 on Ahmed Tahiluddin's hits and another error by Jules De Jesus, who also delivered a crosscourt kill in the next play to preserve La Salle's win.
JM Ronquillo led the Green Spikers with 13 attacks, two blocks and one ace.
Noel Michael Kampton had 12 points, including three aces, to go with 13 excellent receptions, while Vince Gerard Maglinao added 11 points.
Jude Christian Aguilar scored nine attacks for Adamson, which bowed out of the Final Four race at 4-8.
La Salle will face Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday and University of Santo Tomas on April 27.
UST (7-5) and Ateneo (6-6) are fighting for the last semis ticket.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern University rallied past University of the East, 25-17, 17-25, 28-26, 25-19, to assure itself of at least a playoff for a twice-to-beat bonus.
Dryx Saavedra had 16 points, while Martin Bugaoan and Andrei Delicana chipped in 13 points each for the Tamaraws, which improved to 11-1.
“Yung game sa UE, yung pinag-usapan namin before, na yung pride nakita naman natin yung UE, talagang inilaban nila yung every single point kaya kudos din sa UE (The game with UE, the one we talked about before, was the pride, we saw UE, how they really fought for every single point, so kudos to UE as well)," FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo said.
Steven Aligayon scored 19 points while middle blockers Angelo Reyes and Axel Defeo contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively, for the Red Warriors (1-11).
FEU will face University of the Philippines at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Saturday before ending the elimination round against defending champion NU on April 24. (PNA)
