Torres sends Tigers back to UAAP men's volleyball finals

John Paul Torres led University of Santo Tomas' 11-point scoring binge in the final set as the Tigers advanced to the finals by coming back from two sets down to beat La Salle, 23-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16, 15-8, Saturday in the UAAP men's volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City. Torres scored a game-high 24 points. Coupled with UST's blocking defense, it proved to be too much for the pesky La Salle squad. With Torres contributing two kills, the Tigers came back from a 3-7 deficit and posted a 14-7 spread in the final set. UST's run ended on a Jayson Ramos service error, but Henry James Pecana gave the Tigers the final point with an emphatic spike. The Tigers will face top-seed Far Eastern University in Wednesday's Game 1 of a best-of-three finals at 1 p.m. also at The Arena, with the España-based spikers are hoping to nail their fourth straight crown. UST coach Emil Lontoc said that Ramos and Pecana, who was struggling in the early stages of the match, contributed to the Tigers' slow start. "They came from an exam, that’s why they were off, but good thing we recovered. We began to play well with our blocking during the third and fourth sets," said Lontoc. Salvador Depante had 16 points while Pecana and Ramos had 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Tigers. It was a sorry loss for the Green Archers, who got 14 points from Chris Macasaet, while Christopher Antonio had 14 markers, with Mark Lee and John Kevin Dela Vega adding 12 each. Macasaet led La Salle's attacks in the first two sets but struggled to find his form in the final set. La Salle began the fifth set with three straight points but UST came back and tied the game on a block. The Green Archers answered with four unanswered points, but then came the Tigers' 11-0 run. - Reuben Terrado, JVP, KY, GMA News