Lady Tams halt Eagles; Maroons rally past Warriors

Far Eastern U rocked the order in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tourney as it brought down fancied Ateneo in five, 1925, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-9, on a day of upsets at the MOA Arena yesterday.

The Lady Tams refused to roll over and die after the Lady Eagles repeatedly took the upperhand in the marathon match, eventually wiping out a 1-6 deficit in the decider to complete the reversal and end FEU’s five-year losing skid against Ateneo.

“It’s a big start and good morale boost for the players,” said FEU’s debuting coach George Pascua, who got a perfect gift on the eve of his 46th birthday.

Chin Basas and Bernadeth Pons punched in 14 hits apiece, providing the heroics in a 9-0 wind-up that sealed the deal for the Lady Tams. The FEU belles duplicated the feat of their male counterparts, who snapped the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ 30-match streak spanning two seasons with a 25-18, 25-19, 25-22 verdict in the morning session.

Earlier, University of the Philippines bucked an erratic performance to score a 2519, 25-13, 21-25, 16-25, 15-8 escape act over University of the East and give new Kenyan coach Godfrey Okumu his maiden victory.

“When we trailed 1-6, I told them the game did not end at 6-1. We just have to fight on and I have complete faith in my players,” said Pascua, whose charges gained from their solid outing on the service line, where they netted 20 points.