BREEZING THROUGH their second round opener, the Ateneo Blue Eagles dominated the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18, 25-21. The match was held earlier today at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This result brings their record to 5-3, rising to the solo third seed in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Volleyball standings.
Spearheading his squad in their winning effort was Amil Pacinio, who earned Player of the Game honors after tallying 17 points off 12 attacks, two blocks, and three aces. Meanwhile, mainstays Kennedy Batas and Jian Salarzon also contributed in double digits, nabbing 14 and 10 markers, respectively.
From the opening set of the Katipunan derby, the Blue Eagles established clear control backed behind ferocious attacks from Batas and a service ace from Salarzon, 4-2. Despite narrowing the lead, the Fighting Maroons succumbed to multiple service errors to extend the Blue and White’s advantage, 9-5.
Determined to widen the gap, the explosive Batas-Salarzon duo relentlessly hammered the opposition’s defense, leading the Blue Eagles to a 3-0 run and forcing UP to call for time, 12-6. Coming off the break, service errors continued to plague the UP squad as the Blue Eagles capitalized on these mistakes to push the lead further, 17-10.
Despite UP’s quick 3-0 run to get back into the game, Pacinio and Batas quickly silenced the Fighting Maroons to keep control of the advantage, 20-13. In the closing stages of the set, Brian Castro and Karl Reyes came up big, providing a combination of attacks, capped off by a final service ace by Reyes, to seal the opening set, 25-16.
Ateneo kept their momentum rolling in the opening stages of the second set as a Pacinio drop shot at UP’s campfire cemented an early 3-1 lead. Not taking their feet off the gas pedal, Jett Gopio and Batas secured a cross-court kill and a drop shot off a freeball to extend their lead, 9-5.
The midpoint of the second frame then saw the Blue and White’s impressive defensive efforts, with a Pacinio block concluding a series of solid stoppages on UP’s top scorer Olayemi Raheem, 15-9. A flurry of violations also reinforced Ateneo’s continued dominance toward the latter end of the period, 19-14. Pacinio put on the finishing touches as the opposite hitter hammered in two statement kills to give his squad a second straight set, 25-18.
The beginning of the third saw the Blue Eagles gain the early advantage through vicious attacks from Pacinio and Batas, 2-1. However, the Fighting Maroons quickly began to gain momentum, establishing early control of the lead for the first time in the match, 3-5.
As the set progressed, both teams began to trade blows, refusing to give up any advantage to their opposition. For the Blue Eagles, Batas and Salarzon continued to pressure the Fighting Maroons’ defense through key attacks to maintain the tight scoreline, 12-12. Midway through the set, Pacinio began to take over for the Blue and White, providing effort on both ends of the court through a kill and a block point, 16-14.
Building on this growing momentum, Salarzon led his squad closer toward the sweep through three crucial attacks, finding the gap in the UP defense, 20-17. Despite giving up service errors in the final stages, Ateneo’s momentum could not be denied as the Pacinio-Gopio-Salarzon triumvirate continued to wreak havoc on the opposition, 24-20.
Similar to the opening set, Reyes came in once again off the bench to score the final point for the Blue Eagles, 25-21, securing the sweep for Ateneo.
The Blue Eagles will look to nab their third straight win against the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday, March 29, at 11:00 AM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Pacinio – 17, Batas – 14, Salarzon – 10, Castro – 7, Gopio – 5, Reyes – 3, Gutierrez – 1
UP (0): Nicolas – 10, Castrodes – 10, Raheem – 9, Lipata – 5, Aca-Ac – 3, Lagando – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-UP: 25-16, 25-18, 25-21
Current Standings (W-L):
- FEU Tamaraws (7-0)
- NU Bulldogs (6-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (5-3)
- UST Golden Spikers (4-3)
- DLSU Green Spikers (4-3)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (2-6)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-6)
- UE Red Warriors (0-8)
