In line with the ongoing University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Men’s Volleyball tournament, this weekly series will analyze the state of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in their bid to win their fourth consecutive championship.
Recap of the week: February 17 to 23
ATENEO CONTINUED their bid for the four-peat championship with a dominant victory against the winless University of the East (UE) Red Warriors (25-20, 25-17, 25-15) on Saturday, February 17, while their match versus the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons was won in four sets (25-14, 25-27, 25-23, 28-26) on Wednesday, February 21.
Although the first set was a straightforward affair for the Blue Eagles, Adamson came back with three extremely close and competitive sets to challenge the defending champions.
“[My only worry] coming into this game is, I think 40% of my players (Basti Cuerva, Ish Polvorosa, John Rivera, Jasper Tan) have fever,” said Ateneo Head Coach Oliver Almadro after the Adamson match.
According to the veteran coach, the first set was won out of intensity, but the following sets hit the Blue Eagles with fatigue which may explain why the scores remained much closer and, at times, Adamson even had significant leads. “I’m happy [the] resiliency of the team is still there,” commented coach Almadro. He also pointed out that Ateneo’s first losses in Season 77 and 78 came against Adamson.
Upcoming games
Sunday, February 25, 8:00 AM vs. University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons (1-3) at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Saturday, March 3, 10:00 AM vs. De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Spikers (2-3) at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
1. Though new challengers arise, Espejo continues to top the scoring standings.
Arjay Onia, DLSU’s top-scoring open spiker, was ahead of Espejo in scoring until the four-time MVP scored a season-high 31 points against Adamson.
Before La Salle’s match against Adamson on Saturday, February 24, Espejo held a total of 99 points while Onia trailed closely with 94. Looking closer however, Espejo is actually behind Onia on spiking by two, though the Blue Eagle has an extra four blocks and three service aces.
Onia’s teammate, Raymark Woo, totals 82 points for the season which puts him at third. These two Green Archers will prove to be a challenge for the Blue Eagles as in their last game of the first round. Also, in terms of individual awards, both pose weighty bids to Espejo who is currently the reigning Best Scorer in the UAAP.
In La Salle’s most recent game against Adamson (25-14, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) on Saturday, February 24, Onia and Woo scored 22 and 19 respectively, demoting Espejo to third spot in scoring. This means that Espejo has to score 18 points against UP to retake the leading spot.
2. Gian Glorioso, the all-around middle blocker
The middle blocker position has three unique attacks to choose from: The quick spike off a short pass from the setter, a running spike or slide hit where in one jumps off one leg from a short run up on the right side behind the setter, and a double take or delayed attack wherein the setter plays it high and the middle hitter faints a quick attack in order to get the blockers to preemptively jump thus giving him an easy and undefended spike. Veteran Gian Glorioso can consistently pull off all of these attacks, making him a very dangerous attacker.
One easy comparison can be seen between Glorioso and last season’s starting middle blocker Rex Intal as the former Blue Eagle also possessed a wide array of consistent attacks. Interestingly, both these Blue Eagles are avid basketball players and possess both incredible height and verticality. Glorioso stands at 6’4” while Intal’s height is 6’2” and both can be seen easily dunking on a basketball rim during training, which tends to invite the wrath of coach Almadro.
Defense is also a big part of Glorioso’s game as he has garnered seven kill blocks in the last two games. He currently ranks third highest in total blocks in the league with 11 denials and third among all middle blockers in terms of per set average with 0.65 blocks per set.
3. Ateneo’s low digging numbers aren’t necessarily a bad thing
Looking at the standings for team digging, Ateneo ranks 7th in the league with an average of 8.06 excellent digs per set while the top 3: DLSU (10.53), UP (10.21), and AdU (10.16) all average either 10 or more digs. In the recent Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Collegiate Conference, Ateneo’s average for the elimination round was 9.05 excellent digs per set, almost an extra dig per set from their current tally. Should the team press the panic button on their floor defense?
This low digging rate can be attributed to the fact that the ball simply does not spend much time on the Ateneo side of the court. Ateneo is first in the league in serving with a total of 21 service aces, second in spiking with a total of 217 spikes, and fourth in blocking with 37 blocks. Ateneo’s superb offense and net defense translates to a low usage rate for their floor defense.
In addition, Ateneo libero Manuel Sumanguid ranks fifth in digging with an average of 3.12 excellent digs per set, which means the Katipunan-based squad has a skilled libero to rely on in the event that their serve fails to disrupt the opposing offense or their blockers are unable to stop the ball.
With two games left in the first round, The Blue Eagles look to ride their momentum with their players showing strong form. Marck Espejo is back to providing his usual MVP numbers. Glorioso looks to be improving with every game and will most likely be Ateneo’s primary middle blocker for seasons to come. The veteran libero Sumanguid is also in good form and will look to hold the fort down on defense when called into action.
