THE ATENEO-FUDGEE Barr Blue Eagles returned to their winning ways with a five-set win over the Philippine Navy Fighting Stingrays, 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25, 15-12, in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on Friday, November 16, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.

Blue Eagles Head Coach Timothy Sto. Tomas started Gian Glorioso, Chu Njigha, Egie Magadia, Tony Koyfman, Ron Medalla, Jan Rivera, and Manuel Sumanguid at libero. Service specialists Pau Trinidad and Bok Morado were used throughout the match with the former playing in all five sets. Kurt Aguilar and Zach Santamaria were also given playing time off the bench with Santamaria playing the entirety of the fifth set after a tactical change by the coaching staff.

Koyfman poured in 19 points while Glorioso was a wall at the net, earning four kill blocks and 22 rebounds. Rivera and Sumanguid were also amazing in floor defence as Rivera notched 13 excellent digs and 26 excellent receives while Sumanguid recorded 16 and 24 respectively.

The Blue Eagles were able to muster an early lead at 8-4 heading into the first technical timeout (TTO). The two teams continued trading points, but the Blue and White were able to maintain the lead by the second TTO, 16-13. A late 4-1 scoring run put Ateneo at set point with a kill off the block by Koyfman, however back-to-back errors prompted the Katipunan-based squad to call time. Setter Magadia then finished the set with a 1-2 play, 25-20.

The second set started off a close battle, but multiple 2-0 runs and a 4-0 scoring run after the second TTO gave the Blue Eagles a huge lead, 20-15. In the latter parts of the set, multiple points were surrendered to referee calls, some of which were protested heavily by the players. Navy player Wilbert Sapida went down with an injury and was carried out by his teammates after a kill by Koyfman, 24-21. Santamaria took set point with a down-the-line floater, 25-21.

The third set also began neck-and-neck, but Philippine Navy was able to slowly build up a lead. A 4-1 run by the Blue Eagles won them the lead late into the set, 18-17. An attack error by Koyfman surrendered the lead and forced a timeout, 19-20. The Blue Eagles were able to tie the score on the following rally but Philippine Navy ended the set with a 5-2 scoring run, 22-25.

The fourth set yet again began as another back-and-forth battle, but a 3-0 run by Navy put them ahead, 10-12. The Blue Eagles struggled to gain any momentum for most of the set due to errors and unanswered attacks from Greg Dolor. The last three points for Navy all came off errors with the set point being conceded by Morado on the serve, 22-25.

The Blue and White were off to a good start in the fifth set going five-for-two to force a timeout off an off-the-block kill from Medalla, 5-2. The Fighting Stingrays answered with a 7-3 scoring run to take the lead off a kill by Dolor, the team’s top scorer, 8-9.

Disaster struck a few rallies later, as a bad landing forced Medalla out of the game. Aguilar replaced the injured wing spiker and scored a kill that forced Philippine Navy to call a timeout, 13-11. A net touch violation by the Blue Eagles opened the door to a possible comeback but a quick kill by Glorioso set up his team for match point, 14-12. The Fighting Stingrays made a crucial error in the last rally as miscommunication on the return of the third ball saw the ball sail wide of the line, 15-12.

According to team management, Medalla’s injury was not severe as he was even available to continue playing after being taped up. He is expected to return for the Blue Eagles in the next match.

The Ateneo-Fudgee Barr Blue Eagles will face former head coach Oliver Almadro and his team of multiple Ateneo alumni, the Cignal HD Spikers, on Tuesday, November 20 at the same venue.

Set Score

Ateneo-PNV: 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25, 15-12

Box Scores

Ateneo: Koyfman – 19, Medalla – 14, Rivera – 13, Glorioso – 12, Njigha – 8, Magadia – 2, Santamaria – 2, Aguilar – 1

PNV: Dolor – 20, Lioc – 12, Castel – 11, Gatdula – 9, Parcon – 5, Taneo – 4, Sapida – 4, Pajiji – 2