By Leiniel A. Santos

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws failed to capitalize on the errors of National University (NU) Bulldogs, 22-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 16-18, ending their four-game winning streak in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 men’s volleyball tourney held today, March 6, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The green-and-gold squad was off to a shaky start with their defense as the Bulldogs put a lot of pressure on their service.

NU’s Ave Joshua Retamar led the Sampaloc-based squad by scoring seven points only in the first set from six aces and an attack.

Despite NU’s 12 errors, the FEU Tamaraws still lost the opening set.

The Bulldogs still got the advantage as they were able to bring their momentum from the opening set during the second set.

Fortunately, Dryx Saavedra managed to unleash several attacks together with Jj Javelona to steal the lead for the first time in the match, 17-16.

However, the Morayta-based squad struggled to maintain their momentum as NU dominated the third set with Jade Alex Disquitado manning the offense.

During the fourth set, the Tamaraws pulled off a comeback to tie the game and force a fifth deciding set as the Dante-led squad continued to carry out unforced errors.

Both teams countered each other's points, but the Morayta-based squad committed errors in the latter part of the fifth set, losing the match.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Coach Eddieson Orcullo mentioned that the aggressiveness of the team throughout the game needs to be improved.

“Dapat maging mas aggressive pa sa lahat ng ginagawa kasi kung makikita natin ‘yung labanan, it’s a matter of cleaning the activity, kung ano yung gagawin mo magre-reflect talaga sa dulo. May set kasi talaga na parang hindi all out (We should be more aggressive in everything we do because if we see the game, it's a matter of cleaning the activity, what you do will really reflect at the end. There’s a set that doesn't seem to be all out),” he said.

He also added that the bench players are one of the strengths of the teams as they can help to fill the gap to the players inside the court.

“Ang maganda naman kasi sa team natin is ‘yung nasa labas na stringer, siya ‘yung magtatakip kung ano man ‘yung kakulangan ng nasa loob para pagbalik kahit papano nakatono na siya (The good thing about our team is the stringer on the outside, they will be the one who will cover whatever’s lacking so that when they come back inside, they will be in-tune),” he added.

Zhydryx Saavedra has yet again led the scoring load for the Tamaraws with 19 points, together with Andrei Delicana’s 12 points and JJ Javelona’s 11.

The Orcullo-led squad now stands with a 4-1 win-loss record and will try to stage a comeback against Adamson University on Saturday, March 9, at the same venue.

(Photo by Jan Dendiego/FEU Advocate)