Far Eastern University kept its V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge title defense alive after sweeping La Salle, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, in Finals Game 2 on Wednesday at Dasmariñas Arena here.
After getting swept by La Salle in Game 1, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23, on Monday, the Tamaraws came out firing to equalize the series with Lirick Mendoza standing out in FEU’s balanced attack with seven kills and four blocks to finish with 11 points.
Dryx Saavedra delivered 10 points. Mikko Espartero and Doula Ndongala had nine each, while Charles Absin added eight.
‘I think what really worked is that we understood each other on what we wanted to happen with our game plan,’ said FEU coach Eddieson Orcullo in Filipino.
‘We just focused on one thing from Game 1: service and receive. Because if you look at it, in Game 1 we couldn’t receive properly; they could. In games like this, whoever can handle the first ball will have the upper hand. This time, we were the ones who got the passes in, and that’s why the outcome was different.’
FEU and La Salle clash in a decider on Friday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The Tamaraws dethroned the Green Spikers in last year’s final, and the latter eyeing redemption and their second crown since 2023. ‘Now that we’re already here, we’re not going to stop. Game 3 is anybody’s game. La Salle will definitely prepare and make their adjustments. For us, we’ll just keep going. Tomorrow’s another day, another chance,’ said Orcullo.
Issa Ousseini was the lone double-digit scorer for La Salle with 10 points, as MVP Chris Hernandez was limited to just seven points. Eugene Gloria also scored seven.