THE ATENEO Men’s Volleyball Team (AMVT) reclaimed their wings to deliver the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Spikers another tempestuous defeat, 22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 26-28, 15-9. The five-set thriller was held earlier today at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The victorious result propelled the Blue Eagles to fourth place in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
Exhibiting another breathtaking performance, Jian Salarzon mustered up 29 kills, two blocks, and one ace to total 32 points. Trailing behind him was Kennedy Batas, who scored 25 points from 23 spikes and two blocks.
At the onset of the first frame, the Blue Eagles struggled, lagging by three points after UST’s Paul Collinares’ decisive block, 1-4. Still, Ateneo quickly crawled back and tied the game with a sneaky backline cross by Amil Pacinio, 7-7. Despite the Blue Eagles’ efforts, the Golden Spikers stayed in control by taking a seven-point lead, 13-20. However, Ateneo relented by closing the gap to four after excellent passes from Lance de Castro, 20-24. With the Blue Eagles at the precipice of staging a comeback, Josh Ybañez silenced their hopes with a clever drop ball, securing the first set for the Golden Spikers, 22-25.
Setting the tone in the second set, Batas unleashed a cross-court shot toward UST’s back row, scoring first blood. The Blue Eagles used this momentum to extend their advantage to a four-point lead after a triple-block by Jettlee Gopio, Salarzon, and Batas, 4-1.
However, displaying tremendous tenacity, the Golden Spikers soon ate up the Blue Eagles’ lead, 9-11, nearing the second technical timeout. Undeterred, Batas and Salarzon responded forcefully with two back-to-back blocks, reclaiming an incremental lead, 15-13. A back-and-forth affair dragged on in the set’s final moments until King Mangulabnan checked Ybañez’s attack, 23-22, quashing UST’s tempo. The Blue Eagles then eventually took advantage of the opening to seal the second set, 25-23.
Moving on to the third frame, the Blue Eagles secured an early lead, 8-6, with Batas establishing the groundwork from his first spike. Mirroring the tempo of the entire game, UST reclaimed their lead behind a block on Ateneo’s engagement, 10-9. Nevertheless, the standstill persisted until Salarzon’s spectacular straight, 23-20. Following this, Salarzon continued with his unrelenting spikes to capture the third set, 25-23.
Tracing the pattern of the last two sets, Ateneo went up two points over the Golden Spikers in the fourth frame, 2-0, beginning with a thunderous pipeshot from Salarzon. As the script unfolded once again, UST crafted another lead from the back of players like Gboy De Vega, 9-6. This time around, the Golden Spikers led the Blue Eagles midway through, dominating rallies with De Vega’s offense and Rainer Flor’s defense, 13-8. De Vega responded with an array of shots, to keep the game close, 16-14.
Afterwards, Salarzon answered inside these golden-painted rallies, demonstrating his power, 15-16. Thanks to powerful attacks from the Blue Eagles, the game devolved back into a deadlock, 20-20. Spearheaded by Salarzon and Ybanez respectively, the Blue Eagles and Golden Spikers traded blows, leading to an extended-set affair, 26-26. With emotions at their peak, UST’s Colinares would abruptly end the fourth strata with a drop ball, 28-26.
Unwilling to receive a third straight defeat, the Blue Eagles blew open the final set, 7-4, with Batas identifying a clear opening in the Golden Spiker’s defense from the back row. Carrying on the momentum, the Katipunan-based squad never stopped with their powerful attacks, even at the cost of some points, 9-8. Despite this, the aggressive mentality flourished, culminating in Ryan Daclunan’s magnificent drop to take match point, 14-9. With UST’s back against the wall, Sherwin Umandal attempted to retake the game. However, Salarzon’s threatening defensive presence forced Umandal to commit a net error, resulting in an Ateneo victory, 15-9.
During the press interview, Salarzon commented on his 32-point outing, recognizing that it would not have been possible without his teammates’ help and contributions. He then commented that the team had changed for the better after the back-to-back losses, now approaching their games with a new and improved attitude.
This Sunday, at 10:00 AM, in the same arena, the Ateneo Blue Eagles are set to take on the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons to leverage today’s victory.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Salarzon – 32, Batas – 25, Gopio – 11, Pacinio – 10, Daculan – 3, Mangulabnan – 2, Jeric Sendon – 1
UST (2): Ybañez – 33, De Vega – 18, Colinares – 10, Jay Rack De La Noche – 8, Flor – 7, Umandal – 2, Dux Yambao – 2
Set scores:
Ateneo (3)-UST (2): 22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 26-28, 15-9
Current Standings (W-L)
- NU Bulldogs (7-1)
- FEU Tamaraws (6-1)
- DLSU Green Spikers (5-2)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (4-4)
- UST Golden Spikers (4-4)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (3-4)
- UE Red Warriors (1-6)
- UP Fighting Maroons (0-8)
