Adamson University made the right plays down the stretch to outlast the University of Santo Tomas, 27-25, 25-20, 26-24, and grab a share of third place in the tight UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Tournament Final Four race on Saturday evening at Filoil Centre.

Similar to their first-round upset of the Golden Tigresses last March 7, the Lady Falcons once again leaned on the offensive firepower of Shaina Nitura and Nigerian wing spiker Frances Mordi to strengthen their postseason push with two games remaining in the elimination round.

The crucial victory lifted Adamson into a tie for third place with UST, as both teams hold identical 7-5 win-loss records, ahead of fellow Final Four contenders Far Eastern University (6-5) and the University of the Philippines (5-6). The Lady Falcons also hold the tiebreaker over the Golden Tigresses after sweeping both head-to-head meetings in the preliminaries.

Adamson looks to further strengthen its bid to end a two-year postseason drought when it faces UP this Wednesday, April 15, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Meanwhile, UST—playing without head coach Shaq delos Santos due to Cignal’s semifinal clash against Farm Fresh in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference—aims to revive its Final Four bid in a second-round matchup against UP on Sunday, April 19, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

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Adamson University used a six-run fourth inning to hold off the University of Santo Tomas, 12–6, moving into solo third place with their fourth win of the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Baseball tournament on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Trailing by just one run after two innings, the Soaring Falcons’ bats came alive in the fourth. Four hits produced six runs, extending their lead to 10–3.

Kurt Cabanillas started the rally with a single to left field, and a throwing error by Irvin Llave allowed James Nisnisan to score the first run. Leonel Matanguihan followed with a two-RBI double to left-center, bringing home Cabanillas and Nisnisan. Back-to-back hits from Kean Matanguihan and Ivan Jonson added four more runs to close the inning.

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

“Yun nga ang sabi ko sa kanila, na sana ‘tong second round kailangang manalo tayo sa lahat ng remaining games na ‘to para makaakyat tayo sa [standings]. Gano’n naman, nakapag-deliver rin, same as last game namin, na more ‘yung hits and at the same time, ‘yung pitcher ko nakapag-hold. Kaya, ito, medyo ok naman ang result,” said head coach Lando Binarao.

Leonel Matanguihan’s two-RBI double led Adamson’s offense, which produced 11 hits in total, with catcher Mark Simbajon contributing three.

Rookie pitcher Christian Basa held the San Marcelino side in check, allowing only two earned runs on three hits over 5.2 innings before turning the game over to Nisnisan, who closed it out with a strikeout.

The Soaring Falcons will face a tough National University Bulldogs team, coming off back-to-back losses, in Wednesday’s second game of the tournament, which is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Binarao, however, is confident his squad can handle the challenge if they maintain their current form.

“Same lang rin naman ‘yung gusto kong mangyari. Sabi ko nga, itong second round, kung ganyan ang ilalaro natin sa NU, mananalo tayo sa NU. Wala namang imposible do’n kung ganito naman magiging performance nila,” added the concurrent national team head coach.

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

UST once again finished with double-digit hits, led by Cedrick Marquez, who had three hits and two RBIs. The España-based squad, however, committed seven errors.

The Golden Sox slipped to a 2–5 record, sharing fifth and sixth places with the University of the Philippines.

UST will face De La Salle University in the final game of Wednesday’s tripleheader.

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When Adamson University extended its dominance in UAAP Softball with a 12th straight championship last season, captain Remelie Herrero, Alaiza Talisik, Aliza Pitchon, and MJ Maguad were at the forefront, leading the Lady Falcons to victory.

This season, however, Adamson would have to move on without these four key players, all of whom have already exhausted their playing years. The challenge now fell on the shoulders of the remaining squad members to step up as leaders for the new batch.

Head coach Ana Santiago, though, made a decisive choice for the role — no less than their Season 87 Finals gamechanger, Mae Langga.

Langga had anticipated the leadership opportunity following the graduation of the seniors, but was still surprised to be entrusted with the captainship.

“Nung una, parang kabado pa. Siyempre, ang laki nung iha-handle kong team. Hindi lang naman ‘yan basta-basta. Pero ang sa ‘kin, I accept the challenge siyempre. Gano’n ako ka-loyal sa Adamson na gusto kong i-angat sila, gusto kong i-lead ‘yung team ko,” she shared, fully aware of the weight of leading a titleholder squad.

As one of the team’s seniors, Langga embraced her role not just as a captain but also as the glue holding together a mix of seasoned student-athletes and rising talents. For the Lady Falcons, it was also a matter of initiative — stepping up to ensure the squad could continue its legacy of success.

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

“Nung mga time na siyempre alam na namin na may ga-graduate, may mawawala talaga, kailangang may pumalit. So, sila, in-accept na rin nila na wala na ‘yung mga ate namin, kailangan naming pumasok. Kami ‘yung magpupuno nung magiging kulang ng team,” the fourth-year standout shared.

“Hindi naman kami sigurong nahihirapan na kumbaga tanggapin ‘yung mga kakulangan, but still siyempre, wino-work out pa rin namin kasi hindi siya madalian. Hindi siya overnight thing lang, so, parang kami pinupunuan namin ‘yung pagkukulang sa team.”

Even with a strong start — finishing the first round at the top of the standings with a 3–1 record — Langga admits the Lady Falcons are still far from the team they aspire to be.

This is the growth Langga hopes to see in the second round, which kicks off on Saturday.

“Nakikita naman ng lahat na marami pa kaming kulang sa amin. So, ngayon, ginagawa namin — and even ngayon na during the season, sinisipagan naming mapunuan siya. Sinisipagan naming ma-work out kung ano pa ‘yung mga kulang namin. Tiwala lang sa isa’t isa, lalo na kay God,” the 25-year-old captain said.

“Sa ‘min, trying hard and working hard pa rin kami na makuha pa rin ‘yung gusto pang ma-achieve ng team. Working hard pa rin kami na ‘yung gustong makita ni coach sa ‘min, kasi so far hindi pa namin masasabi na ito na ‘yung level ng laruan namin. Kasi para sa coach namin, meron pa, may ibibigay pa.”

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