By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Melody Pons and Lovely Lopez of the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws clinched the fourth and final semis seat of the UAAP Season 87 women’s beach volleyball tournament at Sands SM By The Bay in Pasay City on Sunday, November 24.

Pons and Lopez formalized their Final Four entry with a 21-18, 21-14 win over University of the Philippines’ (UP) Euri Eslapor and Julia de Leon.

They ended the eliminations with a 4-3 record.

The Lady Tamaraws tandem will battle University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Sands’ Sofiah Pagara and Khy Progella in a knockout semifinals round at the same venue on Tuesday morning, November 26.

Negrense Honey Grace Cordero and Kat Epa of the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs will also head to the semifinals round despite their 21-16, 21-11 defeat to the Tiger Sands on Sunday.

The Lady Bulldogs pair will face the Adamson University Lady Falcons’ rookie tandem of Shai Nitura and Fei Sagaysay in the Final Four round.

In the men’s division, Dominique Gabito and Alche Gupiteo also powered the Tiger Sands to a seven-match sweep, topping Negrense Alex Iraya and Sky Gemarino of the NU Bulldogs, 21-11, 21-14.

The Bulldogs placed second with a 6-1 win-loss record and will go up against the third-ranked FEU Tamaraws’ Amet Bituin and Reynan Postorioso in the do-or-die Final Four round.

UP Fighting Maroons clinched the last Final Four berth as Angelo Lipata and Christian Pitogo shut the door on De La Salle University Green Spikers’ Andre Espejo and Von Marata, 21-11, 18-21, 15-9.

They will face top-seed UST in a knockout semis game./ASC, WDJ