THANKS TO spectacular individual performances, the Ateneo Blue Eagles conquered the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in three convincing sets, 25-19, 25-16, 25-23. The contest occurred yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
This win puts the Blue Eagles at a 2-1 record in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
Ushering the Blue and White, Jian Salarzon displayed a spectacular outing with 16 attack points and two blocks. Meanwhile, Aimar Okeke demonstrated a similar performance, accumulating 11 kills and two blocks to aid number 18. Finally, assisting the team’s offensive game, King Mangulabnan brilliantly administered the ball to unlock the hitters throughout the contest.
Kicking off yesterday’s match, the Blue Eagles conjured an advantage from the back of Salarzon and Kennedy Batas’s denials and attacks, 7-4. Ateneo’s lead remained throughout the early portion of the set, 11-7, until the Fighting Maroons etched a comeback thanks to Louis Gamban’s offensive tactics, 13-12. Despite this, the Blue Eagles quickly restored their momentum with the aid of Okeke and Ryan Daculan, 20-15. The Loyola Heights-based squad ran with the lead, forcing errors and denying UP’s frontline attacks to take the first set, 25-19.
Heading to the second set, the Blue Eagles found themselves in a tightly-contested affair, 4-4, with each team taking turns to score. UP temporarily broke the stalemate, 8-6, but was quickly silenced by Okeke’s cut and the twin towers’s block, 8-8. The deadlock persisted, 11-11, with Salarzon acting out as the bedrock of the team on both ends. Amid the standstill, Batas drilled through the Fighting Maroons’ walls from the back row. Following Batas was Cyrus De Guzman’s shrewd block that handed Ateneo their first three-point lead in the set, 18-15. Okeke with intelligent swipes and consistent cut shots extended the lead, eventually culminating in a set win for Ateneo, 25-16.
The third set had UP scoring three consecutive points, but Ateneo responded fast to tie the game back, 4-4. Quick blocks and shots handed Ateneo the lead, 8-6, in large part due to Daculan’s defensive presence. However, the Fighting Maroons valiantly answered back with kills to drag the match to an impasse, 11-11. After this, Salarzon established himself as the standout player from the left wing by exploiting the gaps in UP’s defense, 17-14. Mirroring their miraculous performance from their previous win against Ateneo, the Fighting Maroons stitched their deficit, 21-21. Despite UP’s effort, the Blue Eagles demonstrated that they were no longer the same team from last year, after Cyrus De Guzman closed the game with a killing move, 25-23, lifting Ateneo to a win over their neighboring rivals.
With the hope of extending their newfound momentum, the Ateneo Blue Eagles will face another significant nemesis in the De La Salle University Green Spikers this coming Saturday, 12:00 NN, at the Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
Set scores:
Ateneo (3)-UP (0): 25-19, 25-16, 25-23
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Salarzon – 18, Okeke – 13, De Guzman – 11, Batas – 10, Daculan – 9
UP (0): Lagando – 15, Nicolas – 6, Gamban – 5, Rubin – 4, Malabanan – 3, Bersano – 2, Laureta – 1
Standings:
- FEU Tamaraws: 3-0
- UST Golden Spikers: 2-1
- DLSU Green Spikers: 2-1
- NU Bulldogs: 2-1
- Ateneo Blue Eagles: 2-1
- AdU Soaring Falcons: 1-2
- UP Fighting Maroons: 0-2
- UE Red Warriors: 0-3
