Fourth-seeded University of Santo Tomas emerged victorious in its Final Four do-or-die match against top-ranked Far Eastern University, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24, in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday, May 8, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Golden Spikers arranged a Finals rematch against defending champion National University Bulldogs, who clinched the first seat just a few hours prior following a similar four-set victory over the De La Salle Green Spikers in the other semifinal pairing.

UST leaned on its balanced scoring rotation with four players finishing in double figures to become the first No. 4 team to rise against the top side in the history of the Final Four era. 

With no do-overs, likely back-to-back MVP Josh Ybañez let it out on the floor with 17 points built on 14 attacks, one block and two service aces that went with 11 receptions, while rookie Sherwin Umandal also had 14 markers all on kills made.

Gboy De Vega, who delivered the clincher off a powerful crosscourt attack, also contributed 14 points highlighted by 12 kills. Paul Colinares, for his part, added 12 markers of his own.

On the other hand, Dryx Saavedra paced FEU with a game-high 18 points, while Andrei Delicana and JayJay Javelona had 10 markers each in the sorry loss.

In the eliminations, only reigning champ NU managed to come out on top of FEU as the rest of the teams tried and fell short in their attempts. 

After settling for fourth place in the standings through an up-and-down elimination round, the España crew defeated all odds against the twice-to-beat FEU and resumed its mission of contending for the UAAP crown, which it last won in Season 73 against the same team 13 years ago.

With Ybañez unveiling himself as the top player in Season 85 during his debut, UST rediscovered its winning culture but fell short against the mighty NU side in their championship showdown. 

The spot was disputed at 24-all in the fourth set after UST committed a costly net error.

But Umandal and De Vega were dead set on marching back to the Finals as they unleashed back-to-back hits that iced the game for good.