LOOKING TO go up early in the finals series, the Ateneo Blue Eagles triumphed over the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws in straight sets, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19, on Wednesday, October 11 at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
The Katipunan-based squad moves one game ahead of the Tamaraws in the race for the championship, only one more victory away for taking the crown in the inaugural season of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Men’s Collegiate Conference.
Head coach Oliver Almadro started his usual seven of Marck Espejo, Chu Njigha, Ish Polvorosa, Karl Baysa, Gian Glorioso, and John Rivera, with Manuel Sumanguid at libero. He also had Ron Medalla come off the bench in the first two sets as well as starting him over Baysa in the third.
Glorioso led the team in scoring 15 points, three blocks, as well as a 73% spiking efficiency. Behind him was Espejo with 14 points and two service aces. The team kept their composure for most of the match and only conceded 19 points to errors.
An exchange of blows characterized the first set, with neither squad able to pull away. An off the block kill by the Tamaraws had them lead by one at the first technical timeout, 7-8, while a spike off the block from Bugaoan extended the deficit to two at the second technical timeout, 14-16. A service ace by Polvorosa, however, changed the tide to give his team the lead late into the set, 21-20. A 4-2 run by the Blue Eagles capped off by a combination play then allowed Medalla to get the easy kill to finish the set, 22-25.
The second set saw FEU and Ateneo trade points, as a dump by FEU’s Kris Silang eventually gave his team the one-point lead heading into the first technical timeout, 7-8. The Blue Eagles responded with an 8-3 scoring run capped off by a delayed attack by Glorioso, 15-11. With a run shifting the momentum to their side, the Blue and White were able to maintain the lead, and Medalla claimed the set-point with a kill against the lone blocker off an excellent set by Polvorosa, 25-20.
FEU kept the scores close early in the third set, and a service error by Polvorosa gave the Tamaraws the lead heading into the first technical timeout, 7-8. A service ace by Espejo to the corner gave his team the three-point lead heading into the second technical timeout, 16-13. The Blue and White carried this momentum to the very end and a kill block by Espejo on a quick attack ended the set and the match, 25-19.
The second game of the PVL Men’s Collegiate Conference finals as well as the awarding ceremony will be on Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 PM at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
Box Scores
Ateneo: Glorioso – 15, Espejo – 14, Njigha – 7, Rivera – 7, Medalla – 6, Baysa – 4, Polvorosa – 2
FEU: Bugaoan – 13, Paler – 11, Dablo – 6, Quiel – 4, Bautista – 3, Silang – 2, Provido – 2, Salabsab – 1
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