RON MEDALLA put on a phenomenal 32-point performance as the Ateneo Blue Eagles ended the FEU Tamaraws’ undefeated record and avenged their first round loss to begin the second round of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Men’s Volleyball Tournament, 31-29, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24, on Wednesday, March 20, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Medalla erupted with a career-high 32 points including three blocks and two service aces. Behind him in the scoring chart was Tony Koyfman who ended with 21 markers. John Rivera tallied 13 points and 32 excellent receptions, while Manuel Sumanguid got himself a double-double of 28 excellent digs and 19 excellent receives.

Jude Garcia led the way for the Tamaraws with 19 points, while Team Captain Richard Solis produced 15 markers. Redi Paler also put up 15 points with 11 coming from attacks, four from blocks, and one from the service line. John Bugaoan got to double figures as well, scoring 11 points.

Ateneo Head Coach Timothy Sto. Tomas fielded Medalla, Koyfman, Rivera, Egie Magadia, Chu Njigha, Gian Glorioso, and Sumanguid as his starting unit. Kurt Aguilar, Ariel Morado, Sebastian Cuerva later came on as impact substitutes for the team.

The Blue Eagles got off to a strong start as Njigha set the tone of the game early on with a quick spike, 1-0. An early lead for Ateneo gave them a cushion as they committed multiple attack errors but managed to hold on to a slender advantage going into the first technical timeout (TTO), 8-6. Koyfman found his rhythm late in the first set, bringing his team close to claiming an advantage, 23-21. The Tamaraws managed to tie the game at 25-all before the two teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair. Medalla’s service ace and Rivera’s down-the-line kill finally clinched the Katipunan-based side a 1-0 set-lead, 31-29.

Koyfman, again, was the main man for Ateneo early in the second set as he produced half of his team’s points heading into the first technical timeout, 8-5. The Tamaraws marched their way back into the set, taking an 11-13 lead through Bugaoan’s quick hit to force the Eagles into calling a timeout. FEU maintained control all throughout the set with a Koyfman mishit ceding the set to the Tamaraws, 22-25.

Back-to-back FEU net-touch violations gave Ateneo the lead by the first TTO, 8-7. Both squads kept it neck-and-neck with Medalla’s kill off-the-block the only thing separating the two sides at the second technical timeout, 16-15. The set continued on to be a tightly contested affair before two consecutive errors from the Tamaraws in the crucial moments of the game gave the set to Ateneo, 25-23.

Ateneo’s poor start allowed the Tamaraws to take a comfortable 3-8 lead by the first technical timeout. Medalla showed his resiliency with four winners in quick succession to close the gap, 12-16, going into the second technical timeout. The Blue Eagles finally got a taste of the lead through Medalla, 20-19, before an illegal FEU block gave the Blue Eagles the match, 26-24.

When asked to comment about his performance, Medalla said, “Inenjoy ko lang yung game ko and wala akong inisip na kahit anong pressure, as in just enjoy lang.”

(I just enjoyed the game and I didn’t think of anything that would mount pressure on me, like really just have fun with the game).

The schedule for the next match has yet to be announced. The Blue Eagles now stand at third in the standings with a 5-3 win-loss record.

Set Scores

Ateneo-FEU: 31-29, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24

Box Score

Ateneo: Medalla 32, Koyfman 21, Rivera 13, Njigha 5, Glorioso 3, Magadia 1

FEU: Garcia 19, Solis 15, Paler 15, Bugaoan 11, Quiel 8, Suarez 3

Photo by James B. Gavina