THE ATENEO Blue Eagles snagged a victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Spikers in five tight-knit sets, 15-25, 32-30, 20-25, 25-20, 17-15, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
This puts the Blue Eagles at a 3-2 win-loss record in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Men’s Volleyball Tournament (MVT).
Player of the Game Jettlee Gopio tallied 17 points consisting of 14 attacks and three blocks. Leading scorer Jian Salarzon also excelled with 22 markers on 18 hits, two denials, and two unanswered services.
Opening the match, a back and forth on attack conversions saw both squads yearning to establish court dominance. Each winger from the Blue and White contributed points to the scoreboard, but the Golden Spikers grasped the advantage with a three-point lead, 8-5. The España-based squad then maintained the upper hand throughout the set, achieving a seven-point burst courtesy of UST’s Gboy De Vega and Josh Ybañez, 21-12. The Golden Spikers eventually clinched the set due to errors plaguing the Ateneo, 25-15.
The second canto coursed in favor of the Ateneo following an activated Gopio and Amil Pacinio who started for the Blue Eagles, 8-5. Afterward, the Katipunan-based squad pushed through with a 5-0 run that was capped off with an attack error by Jay De La Noche, 11-6. A long rally also saw the grit of the Ateneo with Lance De Castro guarding the floor defense, ultimately seeing Salarzon convert on an attack, 17-15. However, the Golden Spikers played catch up as a deadlock at 20 persisted into an extended play. Despite numerous set points for UST, the Blue Eagles hustled with Gopio converting on slide attacks and the Golden Spikers troubled with errors to secure the set, 32-30.
As the third frame proceeded, Kennedy Batas and Salarzon spearheaded the offense with massive cross court attacks and down-the-line hits. Following this, UST’s uncontainable middle blocker Colinares collection of quicks led to Pacinio finally silencing the Golden Spiker with a block, 11-10. However, the España-based squad gained a four-point cushion with Dux Yambao confusing the Atenean blockers, feeding the ball to De Vega on a combination play, 18-14. Ybañez then displayed his relentless offensive capabilities by nabbing the last five points, 25-20.
With the fourth set in play, an off-speed service ace by Salarzon gave the Blue Eagles an early five-point edge, 8-3. The outside hitter remained dominant, as Salarzon enforced the lead with a sweeping attack towards the UST net defense, 14-9. The largest gap at seven portrayed the excellence of the Atenean wingers on court, with each Atenean hitter doing their part in forcing a deciding fifth-set frenzy after containing De Vega, 25-20.
Entering the final set, another back-and-forth tussle elicited a trade off of points between the Blue Eagles and Golden Spikers. Brilliant set distributions by King Mangulabnan ignited Salarzon’s attack on the front and down the line, 3-2. Gopio followed suit with back-to-back slide attacks to tie the game, 7-all, later creating a momentum shift after denying Colinares at the net, 11-10. Finally, Batas on the left wing went down the line while a mis-reception allowed Salarzon to push the ball into the Golden Spiker’s unguarded floor, giving the Blue Eagles the match, 17-15.
Bouncing off of this statement win, the Blue Eagles must now confront the Adamson Soaring Falcons to bag another victory on Wednesday, March 13, at 12:00PM with the venue to be announced at a later time.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Salarzon – 22, Batas – 18, Gopio – 17, Pacinio – 17, Ryan Daculan – 6, Mangulabnan – 3, Jeric Sendon – 1
UST (2): Ybañez – 31, Colinares – 18, De Vega – 16, Sherwin Umandal – 10, De La Noche – 8, Rainier Flor – 5, Trevor Valera – 3, Yambao – 2
Set scores:
Ateneo (3)-UST (2): 15-25, 32-30, 20-25, 25-20, 17-15
Current Standings (W-L)
- FEU Tamaraws (4-1)
- DLSU Green Spikers (4-1)
- NU Bulldogs (4-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-2)
- UST Golden Spikers (2-3)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (2-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (0-4)
- UE Red Warriors (0-5)
