SHATTERING THEIR skid, the Ateneo Men’s Volleyball Team (AMVT) cruised past the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors to complete their elimination-sweep of their Recto-based counterparts. The Blue and White prevailed in four sets, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The victory kept the Blue Eagles in Final Four contention in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Men’s Volleyball Tournament at fifth place with a 6-6 win-loss record.
Kennedy Batas led the Blue Eagles to victory by scoring 25 points off 23 kills and two blocks. Steadying the ship was Lance De Castro, who came up with three excellent receptions and 14 excellent digs.
Meanwhile, Jan Mangulabnan was named Player of the Game with a game-high 21 excellent sets.
From the get-go, the Blue Eagles seized an early lead in the first set, largely due to Batas’s pin-point crosses, 3-0. Nevertheless, the Red Warriors and Isaiah Roca’s spikes immediately evened the score at 3-3.
The standstill remained throughout the early stage of the set with both teams committing errors consistently, 9-9. Eventually, the Blue Eagles broke the deadlock after two excellent attacks from Salarzon and a service ace from Jetlee Gopio to burst out into a four-point advantage, 14-10.
In spite of repeated service errors, Ateneo would then tightly clutch the lead inside their claws. With Batas, Gopio, and Salarzon’s swift and strong spikes, the Blue Eagles guaranteed the victory in the first set, 25-17.
In stark contrast to the previous set, the second frame had the Red Warriors–led by Joshua Pozas and Roca–running with a lead of 4-0. Nonetheless, Ateneo carved into UE’s lead after a miraculous service ace from Gopio that landed right on the line, 8-9.
However, UE kept their advantage, scoring easy points with Axel Defeo while also capitalizing on Ateneo’s accumulative errors to build a slender two-point cushion, 17-15. This red-coated frame persisted until Batas and Salarzon continually bypassed UE’s net defense to trim the deficit to a single point, 23-24.
Despite Ateneo’s comeback attempt, the Blue Eagles’ momentum quickly went up in flames after the Red Warriors blocked Gopio’s slide attack, concluding the second set in favor of UE, 25-23.
With timely adjustments in the third frame, the Blue Eagles managed to mitigate their errors en route to securing another set win. Ateneo pulled away from the Red Warriors with a 7-0 run that included back-to-back aces from Salarzon, 14-7. Even with Angelo Reyes’ best efforts, the AMVT pushed on to take the set, 25-19.
Eager to secure another win, the Blue Eagles soared to an 8-4 cushion to start the fourth, with Salarzon leading the way. The AMVT then held on to their advantage courtesy of their stellar net defense, with five blocks to UE’s zero.
Meanwhile, Batas’s powerful attacks proved to be pivotal as Ateneo wasted no time in putting UE away in the fourth set, sealing the victory with an attack by Jeric Sendon, 25-20.
Outscoring the Red Warriors on service aces 8-0, Head Coach Timmy Sto. Tomas reiterated his words to the Blue Eagles before the game. “We just have to focus. As long as you know that it’s working, tuloy-tuloy lang, confidence lang whenever you step inside the service area,” the veteran tactician shared.
“Mas malalim na bench namin kasi kahit paano mas healthy na sina Aimar [Okeke] and Amil [Pacino], and Jetlee [Gopio] is now back in action, so kung ano ‘man kulang namin sa first round, we can [now] do certain rotations kung ano ‘man kailangan namin against La Salle,” Sto. Tomas added, on their preparation for the next game.
(We have a deeper bench with Aimar Okeke and Amil Pacinio healthier now, and Jetlee Gopio is now back in action, so whatever we were missing in the first round, we can now do certain rotations for whatever we’ll need against La Salle.)
With a Final Four berth on the line, the Blue Eagles will look to secure a decisive victory against rivals De La Salle University Green Spikers next Sunday, 12:00 PM, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Batas – 25, Salarzon – 16, Gopio – 13, Pacinio – 7, De Guzman – 6, Okeke – 2, Daculan – 2, Mangulabnan – 2, Sendon – 1
UE (1): Aligayon – 12, Reyes – 12, Pozas – 11, Roca – 9, Defeo – 4, Camaymayan – 3
Set scores:
Ateneo-UE: 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20
Current Standings (W-L):
- FEU Tamaraws (10-1)
- NU Bulldogs (9-2)
- DLSU Green Spikers (7-3)
- UST Golden Spikers (7-5)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (6-6)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (4-7)
- UE Red Warriors (1-10)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-11)
