THE ATENEO Blue Eagles won against rivals Eco Oil-De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Spikers in five sets, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10 in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on Sunday, September 15, at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Ateneo now improves to a 2-0 record in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
The Blue and White began the match with their usual starters: Egie Magadia, Kurt Aguilar, Ron Medalla, Abai Llenos, Chu Njigha, Gian Glorioso, and Lance de Castro. Bok Morado and Basti Cuerva also played crucial minutes off the bench, contributing to Ateneo’s win.
La Salle opened the match with an early advantage. Kiefer Reyes sent DLSU into the first technical timeout (TTO) with a 6-8 lead through a running attack. In the dying moments of the first set, the Blue Eagles attempted to start a scoring run, but John Mark Ronquillo put their efforts in vain with a powerful spike off the block, ending the first set in favor of DLSU, 20-25.
DLSU showed no signs of slowing down early in the second set until Reyes’ attack sailed out, stopping the bleeding for Ateneo, 7-12. Later in the set, Llenos went for the kill, but was denied entry, ballooning the La Salle lead to eight points, 12-20. The Blue Eagles fought their way back, sparked by a Morado and Glorioso combination play that cut the lead to five, 16-21. Ateneo’s wall at the net came alive towards the end, denying La Salle’s attack entry and bringing the score to 25-23 in favor of Ateneo.
With momentum on their side, the Blue Eagles flew into the third set and took the first two points. Ateneo led by as much as six points in the third set, but offensive and defensive errors allowed La Salle to cut the deficit down to just one point, 18-17. Njigha was denied at the net to end the bout at 23-25, with La Salle securing the set win.
The penultimate set began with an exchange of points from both sides. Ateneo marched into the first TTO with a 3-0 run courtesy of super-sophomores Llenos and Aguilar and brought the score to 8-4. The Blue Eagles allowed some breathing room, but the Green Spikers kept pace, with Ronquillo’s kill to the back row returning the lead to DLSU, 12-13. However, Ateneo maintained their composure and slowly garnered points, ending the fourth set with Aguilar’s cross court kill, 25-21.
Njigha opened the final and deciding set with a massive running spike, 1-0. Miscommunication on the side of the Green Spikers tied the game at five-all, but a rocket of a serve from Llenos improved the Blue Eagle’s score to 7-5. A crucial net touch violation from DLSU sent Ateneo’s score to double digits, 10-8. A DLSU attack error ultimately ended the set 15-10, securing the victory for Ateneo.
Ateneo’s next match will be against Centro Escolar University on Thursday, September 19, 5:00 PM at the Paco Arena, Manila.
SET SCORES:
Ateneo-DLSU: 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10
