The Ateneo Blue Eagles defeated the San Beda College (SBC) Red Spikers in three straight sets, 25-19, 25-23, 25-16 on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
This was the Blue Eagles’ opening game in the Spikers’ Turf tournament. The team stands at a 1-0 win-loss record.
The Blue Eagles drew first blood with an excellent block to deny Red Spiker Mark Santos’ first attempt to attack. A see-saw battle followed with both teams committing attack and reception errors until Villanueva’s service ace gains the advantage before the first technical timeout (8-6). Attackers Rex Intal and Marck Espejo delivered quick attacks and powerful spikes throughout the rest of the set. Tony Koyfman makes his debut by coming into the game and earning the set point for the team, while Espejo ended the set with a crosscourt spike.
Getting back in the court for the second set, Espejo opens the set with a running spike. Although the Blue Eagles led most of the set featuring Koyfman giving the team a boost in attack power with his quick responses to incoming attacks from the Bedan squad. However, after Gian Glorioso scored the set point for the team (24-20), defense errors plagued the team as SBC inched closer to the Blue Eagles score at 24-23. Fortunately, the next sequence allowed the Blue and White to take the second set, extending their match score to 2-0.
The Blue Eagles dominated the third set with the team being able to execute combination plays and lessen their net touch violations. With SBC’s inability to rearrange properly, the Blue Eagles were able to spy openings within their defensive scheme, enabling them to end the match at 25-16.
Top scorer Espejo led the team with a total of 13 points in offensive output, of which 10 points stemmed out from his powerful spikes. Koyfman and Ron Medalla followed with 11 points and 8 points, respectively.
As a preseason tournament for the Blue Eagles, Head Coach Oliver Almadro prepares his squad by shuffling his usual starters in order to train the other members of the team. “This is to challenge the new line-up. New system kami and maraming changes (We have a new system and there are a lot of changes),” says coach Almadro. “I am happy with the result of the game, but I know it’s not their hundred percent yet.”
They will face the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals on Saturday, August 6, 12NN at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Espejo-13, Koyfman-11, Medalla-8, Intal-7, Villanueva-4, Polvorosa-3, Baysa-3, Glorioso-1
San Beda: Paglinawan-8, Santos-6, Viray-5, Mascrinas-5, Manaliclic-4, Torres-2, Gonzales-1
