Far Eastern University completed its comeback after sweeping rival La Salle in Game 3, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23, for its second straight V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge championship on Friday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Tamaraws crawled their way back from a 10-15 deficit in the third set and overcame the Green Spikers in a back-and-forth finish. Amet Bituin, Mikko Espartero and Tournament MVP Chris Hernandez played vital roles in the clutch.
Bituin drilled the title-clinching kill as FEU won the title despite losing the finals opener in straight sets.
‘I always tell the boys to enjoy the moment, especially when we’re all together on the hard court. I always say, ‘Hard court, hard game,’ so maybe that’s why everyone played well,’ said FEU coach Eddieson Orcullo, whose squad forced a decider with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, in Game 2 last Wednesday in Dasmariñas, Cavite, in Filipino.
‘We just need to stay focused again. Sometimes, when the hype gets too high, especially towards the end, it gets hard to control your emotions and enjoyment. So I think we just need to stay grounded and focus on what’s happening. We were able to receive well and recovered on our blocking, so the outcome turned out pretty good.’
Dryx Saavedra was hailed as Finals MVP with 14 points off 11 kills and three aces. Bituin had 13 points, Espartero chipped in 10, while Lirick Mendoza and Doula Ndongala added seven each.
Setter Ariel Cacao tossed 24 excellent sets, while libero Vennie Ceballos celebrated his birthday with a championship, tallying 10 excellent receptions and seven digs.
‘It feels really great. It’s such a relief because honestly, we went through a lot of struggles this V-League season,’ said Saavedra, who averaged 13.0 points in the series.
‘But we learned so much from it, and a lot of people helped us along the way. Of course, we thank God for His plans through those struggles, we learned a lot and still managed to make it to the championship.’
FEU finished third in the elimination with a 4-3 record and overcame University of Santo Tomas in a hard-fought three-game semifinal series.