MANILA, Philippines -- The Far Eastern University Tamaraws opened their UAAP Season 85 men’s volleyball campaign with a 3-0 sweep of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

FEU Diliman standout Zhydryx Saavedra impressed in his UAAP debut and delivered 15 points.

“Noong una po is kinakabahan, syempre first time po. First time ko rito sa MOA Arena. ‘Yun, ginawa ko lang yung part ko at maapply ko yung binubuo namin na sistema,” shared Saavedra, who already showed glimpses of his arsenal during the V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge.

Martin Bugaoan collected 11 points, built on eight attacks and three blocks while Mark Calado added 10 markers for FEU.

Despite a rough start, the Tamaraws slowly picked up the pace to claim the opening frame.

FEU was on its way to winning the second set when back-to-back blocks from Redhen Velasquez sparked a late rally for the Katipunan-based squad.

However, the Tamaraws escaped the surge from the Fighting Maroons thanks to the towering net presence of Jose Javelona and Calado, who denied a hit from Louis Gamban to snatch the 2-0 set advantage.

“Emotions. O nafeel niyo na? So okay na, pwede tayong bumalik tayo sa ineensayo natin which is maganda naman yung response ng team,” shared FEU head coach Reynaldo Diaz Jr.

The Tamaraws never looked back in the third set to complete their demolition of the Fighting Maroons.

Angelo Lagando paced the Rald Ricafort-coached UP with 17 points.

“Ang concept ay dapat masustain namin. Alam naman natin madaming games ang UAAP so sana masustain namin,” shared Diaz Jr.

FEU will lock horns against the University of Santo Tomas, while UP tries to bounce back as they take on the De La Salle Green Spikers on Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

UAAP Season 85 is streaming on iWantTFC every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, available for Premium users outside the Philippines.

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