Games today (FilOil Flying V Arena)

10 a.m. - FEU vs DLSU (men semis)
2 p.m. - UST vs FEU (women stepladder)


WITH unbeaten La Salle in the sidelines waiting for a finals opponent, third seed University of Santo Tomas and fourth-ranked Far Eastern University collide in the first stepladder semifinal match of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.

The Tigresses and the Lady Tamaraws face off in a ‘do or die’ match at 2 p.m. at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan, with the winner taking on Ateneo in the second stepladder match this Saturday.

By finishing second in the eliminations, the Lady Eagles have the luxury of the ‘twice-to-beat’ bonus.

The back-to-back seeking Lady Archers booked an outright entry in the championship round with a ‘thrice-to-beat’ incentive after sweeping their 14 assignments in the elims.

Despite the long road to the finals, coach Odjie Mamon remains confident that the Tigresses will make it for the third straight season.

“We may need to win six games to win championship.  Pero we are still keeping the faith,” said Mamon.

With its season on the line, UST will bank on the offensive firepower of Maru Banaticla, Maika Ortiz and Judy Caballejo.

It was a big achievement for the Lady Tamaraws to advance to the semis after a two-year absence despite losing Maica Morada and Mayjorie Roxas along the way.

FEU ousted Adamson, 25-19, 25-17, 26-24, in their ‘sudden death’ playoff for the No. 4 spot last Monday, with Rosemarie Vargas dropping 19 points.

The Tigresses won in the first round, 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-13, before the Lady Tamaraws evened up their head-to-head with a 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23 triumph in the second round.

Meanwhile, top seed FEU and No. 4 La Salle collide in the start of the men’s ‘Final Four’ at 10 a.m.

Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the Tamaraws need to beat the Archers only once to advance to the best-of-three championship series.

Tickets in the men’s and women’s semifinals matches starting today are sold separately.