NU, FEU secure spots in Shakey’s Super League finals

UAAP Season 86 Champion National University and Far Eastern University fight for the second Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals crown in a best-of-three title series starting Monday, July 15, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Lady Bulldogs claimed a 25-19, 25-28, 25-21 victory in their knockout semifinals match, displaying their championship poise in the third set when the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Lady Knights threatened to come back from a nine-point deficit.

The reigning UAAP champions now have a 4-0 record in the tournament.

“We are happy that we won and will play in the championship. Everybody played their roles but we still need connection in our plays especially with the new players, “ NU coach Norman Miguel said in an interview with ABS-CBN.

Two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Bella Belen paced her team with 18 points off 14 kills, three aces and a kill block while Arah Panique delivered nine markers.

On the other hand, the FEU Lady Tamaraws booked their spot in the semifinal berths after overwhelming NCAA three-peat champion De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde with a 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 triumph.

Gerz Petallo led her pack with 14 points off nine attacks, four aces, and a block to set a Finals date against their Season 86 Final Four tormentors.

“It is an opportunity again to go against NU because during UAAP semifinals, we were like up to the challenge because we were like the dark horse in the roster. It is very unexpected but we overcame the challenges and we worked hard to achieve this feat. So, see you, NU,” Petallo told Inquirer.net in an interview. 

With the win, DLS-CSB has been relegated to the bronze-medal match, which is a repeat of NCAA Season 99’s women’s volleyball finals.