MANILA, Philippines -- Frances Mordi and Shaina Nitura delivered the crucial hits at crunch time as Adamson University lived to fight another day with a masterful sweep of twice-to-beat University of the Philippines, 25-20, 25-17, 26-24, in the 2026 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Unity Cup quarterfinals on Saturday at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.
The veteran duo combined for 15 points in the third set while main setter Fhei Sagaysay returned from an ankle injury and orchestrated the Lady Falcons’ relentless assault in the one-hour, 30-minute victory.
Third-seeded Adamson will try to complete an upset of the higher-ranked Fighting Maroons in a sudden death for a semifinal seat in the league’s centerpiece competition, backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, and R&B Milk Tea, on Sunday at the same Muntinlupa venue.
“Siyempre, twice-to-beat ‘yung UP. Mahirap talaga sa part namin na kailangan namin silang talunin ng dalawang beses. Ang kailangan lang naming gawin ay maging composed kami para sa next game namin and more effort pa sa naging outcome ngayon,” Sagaysay said.
Mordi scored 15 points, 10 in the third set, on 12 kills, two kill blocks and an ace while Nitura finished with nine markers on a 9-of-22 spiking clip for the Lady Falcons, who avenged their group stage loss to UP.
Sagaysay, back after a one-month recovery from a right ankle injury, tallied 12 excellent sets to help Adamson punch in 43 attack points.
“First of all grateful ako na nakabalik ako after one month. Ang napi-feel ko lang ngayon ay sobrang saya dahil na-overcome namin as a team ang challenge ngayon. We know na hindi pa ito pagtatapos and alam namin na marami pang challenges and mas marami pa kaming mga games na kailangang harapin at challenges na kailangan naming i-overcome as a team,” Sagaysay said.
Adamson encountered tough resistance from UP in a nip-and-tuck third set after cruising in the first two frames.
The Fighting Maroons flipped an 18-20 deficit to a 23-21 advantage after a Bienne Bansil hit from the middle. Mordi answered with back-to-back kills to knot the count at 23.
Kianne Olango put UP at set point, 23-24, but Nitura fired back with a crosscourt hit to extend the set.
Mordi hammered a crosscourt kill to bring Adamson to match point before Nitura finished off the Fighting Maroons with a sharp backrow attack, which slipped off UP’s defense as Lady Falcons faithful erupted in jubilation.
Jelai Gajero scored 13 of her 14 points on kills while Olango added eight on six spikes and two kill blocks for the Fighting Maroons.
The winner of the Adamson-UP do-or-die match will face the survivor between five-peat-seeking National University and Letran in the knockout semifinals of the competition, supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, the Commission on Higher Education, Mikasa, Asics, Rigour Technology, Jersey Haven, Solar Sports and 12 Beyond Production as technical partners, on November 21 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
All games in the competition are available live and on demand via PusoP.com and Solar Sports.
In the second game, Far Eastern University bucked a second set hiccup to boot out Ateneo De Manila University, 25-18, 19-25, 25-15, 25-13, and book a Final Four berth.
The Lady Tamaraws quickly regrouped after the meltdown as the twice-to-beat second-seeded squad brought back the same sustained intensity they had in the opening frame to occupy a seat in the knockout semis.
FEU will face the quarterfinals winner between twice-to-beat University of Santo Tomas and College of Saint Benilde, still playing as of press time, in the Final Four on November 21 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Cla Loresco led the Lady Tamaraws with 15 points on 10 kills, four kill blocks and an ace.
“Nu’ng first set and second set, masyadong marami ang errors namin. Siguro nadala rin kami na mababa ang emosyon namin,” the FEU middle blocker said.
Kyle Pendon scored 11 of her 12 points from spikes while Gerzel Petallo and Lovely Lopez added 10 markers each for the Lady Tamaraws.
After cruising in the first set, FEU struggled to shake off the Blue Eagles in the second frame. The game was tied at 11 when Ateneo unleashed a 10-2 run to take control of the set, 21-13. The Blue Eagles kept their distance as Zey Pacia closed the set with a block-breaking hit.
The Lady Tamaraws adjusted their gameplan, pouncing early with better service reception and blocking for better control of the ball for setter Karyll Miranda to set up high-percentage attacks.
“Sobrang proud din ako sa mga kasama ko. Kasi ang haba ng preparation namin and sobrang nakakapagod nga siya kasi ang haba. Sana ‘di lang kami maging kampante sa bawat laro namin,” Loresco added.
Ana Hermosura was the lone Ateneo player in double-digit scoring with 10 points, all from kills.
Dona De Leon had eight markers while Jihan Chuatico and Sophia Buena scored six each in the Blue Eagles’ final game. TMT
