TEAM PHILIPPINES—composed of the Ateneo Blue and Lady Eagles— defeated the Singapore team in both the men’s and women’s tournament on Saturday, July 16, 2016 at National University of Singapore Multipurpose Hall 5 in Singapore.
This victory entitles both teams the bronze medal podium finish of the 18th ASEAN University Games (AUG) volleyball tournament that was held from July 11 – July 16.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s tournament opened the day’s games with another chance to face the Singapore team, whom they defeated last Thursday, July 14, 2016. However, the Philippine squad was determined to come out stronger, in which they were able to take the game in three straight sets, 25-15, 25-19, 25-18.
Signs of maturity in the team were evident as team Philippines took control of the whole match from the beginning of the game. With the reminders of head coach Oliver Almadro in starting strong early on, the team widened the score gap by a massive 10 points by the time Singapore committed a distribution error, which surrendered the set point to the Philippines. Following with a service short from Singapore, the team took the set, 25-15.
In the second set, the Singapore delegates rallied close to the Philippine team, as they incurred more quick attacks, which cruised through the Philippine arrangement. However, the Singapore team remained to be plagued with numerous service errors and the set ended with a reaching-over-the-net violation at a score of 25-19.
The last set paved the way for team Philippines to secure the third spot on the podium. Team Philippines used cohesion to their advantage, with their balanced attacks by Marck Espejo, Ysay Marasigan, Josh Villanueva and Karl Baysa and defenses by Manuel Sumanguid, Rex Intal and Ish Polvorosa, becoming no match for the errors accumulated by the Singapore team. To end the match, team captain Marasigan comes up from the side to make a running spike that struck across the Singapore side.
Coach Oliver Almadro was definitely satisfied with the performance of the team, as he believes that the team is not far behind its international competitors, despite its lack of international exposure.
“It was the first time we entered the AUG. Even with the powerhouse of Thailand and Indonesia, who are mostly part of their national teams, we are not far,” says coach Almadro. “The games were really close to say that the volleyball program in the Philippines is improving, especially the volleyball program of Ateneo.”
Another challenge that the team had to face was their depleted line-up due to some players currently taking their intersession classes.
“They help each other to make it up to sa mga wala (They help each other to make it up to those who weren’t there),” says coach Almadro. “I’m proud of my team and I think na mayroon pa kami iaangat, may ipapakita pa (I’m proud of my team and I think we still have something to improve on and show).”
Women’s Volleyball
In the women’s game against Singapore, Alyssa Valdez and her fellow Lady Eagles once again exhibited their trademark strength of heart in five sets to defeat the host team. Playing her last game alongside her University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) comrades, the Phenom led the charge for the Philippine squad to secure the bronze in the regional collegiate competition.
Hosts Singapore were resilient early in the game, overcoming a 5-point deficit in the first set by exploiting lapses in distribution on the Philippine side. Opposite hitter Michelle Morente acted as the fuel to the Filipino firepower, supplying much of the attack to banner the country’s offense. Singapore, however, capitalized on their opponent’s errors, taking their first lead at 17-18 and eventually stealing set at 21-25.
The Philippines bounced back in the succeeding sets, with Bea de Leon and Jhoana Maraguinot stepping up on the court. The country held the lead primarily throughout the second set with Morente carrying the squad, but a four-point rally by the Singaporeans reduced the gap to 18-15. However, blocks from Valdez and De Leon and a timely service ace by Jia Morado produced a 7-point deficit at 22-15, which gave the Philippines the second set to tie the match score.
The host team sought to regain the advantage in the third, taking the first 5-points from violations during play. Valdez then sparked a run, managing to tie the game at 6-6, with Maraguinot contributing greatly to the comeback. The Philippine offensive took matters into her own hands, providing three of her team’s final four points of the set, with a service ace from Morente finally putting the Singaporeans out of their misery to put the Philippines up at 2-1 in the match
Not looking to give up the bronze, the tournament hosts turned the tide in the penultimate set, retaining the advantage through most of the fourth. Hoping to change the rate of the crossfire, the Singaporeans countered the Valdez-backed offense with a scoring streak of their own to take the lead at 10-15. Maraguinot then chipped away at the deficit to bring the Lady Eagles within striking distance at 20-22.
Back and forth errors, however, spelled disaster for both sides, but it was Singapore that made the most out of the catastrophes in distribution and receiving, finishing the fourth set at 22-25 to force a do-or-die fifth.
Racing to 15 points and the third place rank, the Philippines made short work of the battered Singapore, gaining the upper hand early in the final set at 3-2. The tandem of De Leon and Valdez then stepped on the gas, providing blocks that put the squad up 6-2, with Morado adding salt to the wound to bring the score to 8-3. With the bronze medal in sight, Maraguinot and Valdez struck hard to get the match-point, and a final service ace from Kim Gequillana was the nail in the coffin, giving the Philippines the final set and the victory.
