THE ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-0) keep their place at the top of Pool B in the 2022 V-League Collegiate Challenge after a four-set win over the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, 19-25, 28-26, 25-18, 25-21. The match was held earlier today at the Paco Arena in Manila City.
The opening set loss for the Blue Eagles was attributed to their lack of functional defense. Both Ateneo’s outside hitters struggled due to the absence of good first balls, easily allowing the FEU to take advantage of their slow start. The Tamaraws then executed successful combination plays and gained an early lead against the boys in blue, 14-20. FEU further solidified their blocking while the Blue Eagles failed to provide enough coverage at the net, eventually leading to the first set win for the Tamaraws, 19-25.
When asked about what was lacking during the earlier parts of the game, Ateneo Setter James Licauco explained, “Parang wala kami sa sarili (We didn’t feel like ourselves). I feel like everyone wasn’t moving the same way, and we got quiet during the first set.”
Unable to improve their defensive rhythm, the Blue Eagles struggled to activate and cover the left wing in the second set. FEU was thus able to maintain a four-point lead, approaching the second half of the set at 12-16. Open Hitter Abai Llenos then cleverly adjusted to FEU’s blocks to sneak in a few kills for Ateneo, 17-18. In an attempt to recover the ball and chase FEU’s score, Llenos stepped up and powered through FEU’s blockers, 24-23.
After picking up their playing speed, a better connection between Licauco and open hitter Ken Batas brought the Blue Eagles to three set points. After trading points through powerful attacks, Kalle Blomstdet gave the Tamaraws a taste of their own medicine with a monster block to finally claim the set, 28-26.
With the momentum on the side of the Blue and White, Llenos and Batas opted to increase the speed of Ateneo’s offense, resulting in the improvement of their defense as well. The Katipunan-based squad maintained a comfortable lead over the Tamaraws and effortlessly took the third set, 25-18. Riding on the energy of their open spikers, Ateneo’s middle blockers Jett Gopio and Charles Absin activated quick attacks from Licauco’s perfect sets to gain some cushion over FEU in the fourth set, 12-8. The Tamaraws struggled to keep up with the fast-paced attacks of Ateneo, allowing the Blue Eagles to utilize a succession of kills to win the match, 25-21.
Player of the Game Llenos shared how their preparation for the match against FEU went. “We had a viewing of their game against San Beda, and seeing the stats, FEU is the number one blocking team,” he said. “We knew that’s the strength [they were] sticking with but we were able to see a weakness in that certain strength. We maximized that weakness and we were able to win the game.”
The Ateneo Blue Eagles look to maintain their perfect record in their next game against the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas this Sunday, November 6 at 1 PM at the Paco Arena in Manila City.
Set Scores:
Ateneo-FEU: 19-25, 28-26, 25-18, 25-21
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Batas – 18, Llenos – 13, Absin – 11, Gopio – 9, Blomstedt – 6, Salarzon – 4, Pacinio – 3, Licauco – 1
FEU: Saavedra – 13, Abuniawan – 9, Racaza – 9, Javelona – 8, Calado – 7, Domingo – 3, Aldovino – 3, Cacao – 2, Sabanal – 2, Codilla – 1, Sabado – 1
