Far Eastern University escaped De La Salle, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, to move up the stepladder Final Four of the UAAP Season 85 men’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday, May 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws will now face second seed University of Santo Tomas Golden Spikers in another do-or-die match, while defending champion National University Bulldogs await the victor in the finals.

The UAAP has also announced that it made some adjustments in the stepladder format, where the fourth and third seeds now need to win four games, while the second seed has to win thrice, leaving the sweeper only two games to win to claim the championship title

Mark Calado topscored for FEU with 22 points on 20 attacks, one block and an ace, while Jelord Talisayan and Dryx Saavedra had 12 points each.

Mark Calado of FEU rises against three La Salle blockers. (UAAP Media)

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FEU needed an extra set to keep away La Salle, which equalized the match and dragged it to a potential sudden death.

Now up by six in the third set, 23-17, FEU encountered some fightback from La Salle which went on a 5-1 run to pull itself within two.

However, Talisayan got back on his feet to spoil the Green Spikers’ spirited run and take a hard fought 2-1 set lead.

In the following set, FEU couldn’t completely get La Salle off its back as Billie Anima went on a four-straight blocking spree to put the match into a deadlock of 12-all after being down by four.

Despite the resistance from their end, the Green Spikers couldn’t close in on the gap as they continued to trail by one, 20-19.

Anima then scored back-to-back quick attacks, but Martin Bugaoan responded with one of his own to create a two-point separation between FEU and La Salle.

The two-point advantage was eventually turned into a match point as Anima’s attempt went wide.

Despite Noel Kampton’s last-ditch effort, Jose Javelona’s crosscourt attack sealed FEU’s fate.

Kampton and JM Ronquillo paced La Salle with 18 and 17 points, respectively, in the losing effort.

It was the Green Spikers’ first Final Four appearance since Season 75.