THE ATENEO Men’s Volleyball Team (AMVT) yielded to the top-seeded Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws in four sets, 23-25, 30-32, 25-23, 15-25. The match took place earlier today at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The result puts AMVT’s win-loss record in the elimination round at 2-2, enough to maintain their spot at the upper half of the standings at fourth place.
Top scorer Kennedy Batas garnered 22 points off 20 attacks, one block, and one ace, while the blocking tandem of Jett Gopio and Brian Castro scored 12 markers apiece. On the other side of the net, Player of the Game Mikko Espartero contributed 21 points out of 18 kills, two denials, and one unanswered service for FEU.
The opening frames of the match witnessed an influx of defensive lapses from the Blue Eagles. However, Amil Pacinio and Castro’s equally aggressive attack front quickly established the squad’s rhythm to get the Blue and White on the board, 1-4.
Amid broken plays and floor defense errors, Batas capitalized on his critical position in the back row to increase scoring opportunities for Ateneo, 3-6. Taking this advantage, the veteran wing spiker delivered the Blue Eagles’ first two-point run in the set, 5-7.
However, FEU’s Doula Ndongala exploited the Blue Eagles’ shaky defense with sharp crosscourt and quick attacks—spearheading FEU’s 21-15 advantage. With Jian Salarzon and Batas sensing urgency, the formidable duo doubled down on their performance in the service line and at the back row to counter the Tamaraws’ assertive showing, 17-21.
The backend of the set then saw FEU’s fumble on their first set point rally, leaving the door for a Blue and White first set comeback open, 23-24. However, Espartero quickly answered the Katipunan-based team’s challenge to hand the Tamaraws the first set, 25-23.
The second canto began with a tug for dominance, as the equally intense opposing sides displayed aggressive fronts and excellent defensive coverage. Batas banked the first point of the set with a tip to FEU’s unguarded campfire, 1-0.
Following the Batas conversion, the game then saw a series of deadlocks, highlighted by Ateneo’s short 2-0 run courtesy of Ndongala’s service error and Salarzon’s pipe attack, 4-4. At 12-all, however, the Green and Gold pursued a 3-1 counter run to gain a two-point cushion, spearheaded by Espartero’s second ball attack from the back row, 15-13.
Gopio quickly responded to FEU’s pull-away attempt, scoring off the Jed Talisayan block and an ace to tie the game again, 15-15. With back-and-forth conversions all the way to set point, a Batas pipe attack brought the set to a deuce, leading to a Castro kill off FEU’s overpass that handed Ateneo set point, 26-25.
While a service from Salarzon put the game back at a deuce, a few intense exchanges favored the Blue and White, once again gaining set point at 30-29. However, Batas committed an antenna violation to level the score once more, 30-30. The deadlock finally led to an Espartero attack and another Batas error, which put the Tamaraws up two sets to none, 32-30.
Coming off from the close second set, the Blue Eagles entered the third frame with renewed ardor. Batas consistently showed his athletic prowess as his strategic attacks caused FEU’s defense to destabilize, forcing them to rely on broken plays.
Despite this, FEU’s Dryx Saavedra kept up with Batas’ firepower in a showdown in the frontlines, 5-5. Fortifying their net defense further, Miguel Yu, Castro, and Gopio solidified the Ateneo wall with their three-man blocks against Saavedra and Espartero to remain in the driver’s seat, 10-8.
Riding on their momentum, the Blue Eagles were able to capitalize on FEU’s attack errors. After a series of off-the-block hits from Salarzon, the Blue Eagles cornered the Tamaraws with a one-point lead, 19-18.
With the Blue and White’s polished team chemistry topped with Batas’ impressive display in the set’s final moments, Ateneo ultimately took their first-set win in the match, 25-23.
Ateneo commenced the fourth frame with an early 3-1 lead, courtesy of a Batas denial of a Saavedra hit. Despite the promising start, a 6-1 scoring barrage lifted FEU to a four-point edge, 11-7, highlighted by Talisayan’s cross-court kill.
The Green and Gold continued to pull away with Ndongala at the helm of back-to-back points from a block and a hit, 17-10. Although Batas and Yu converted attacks to cut the deficit, former Blue Eagle turned Tamaraw Chad Absin drilled a dagger after a quick hit to bring FEU closer to match point, 23-14.
Attempting to salvage the match for the Blue Eagles, setter Enzo Gutierrez dropped the ball on the second touch to stun the FEU floor defenders, 15-23. Nonetheless, Saavedra converted consecutive points off cross court kills, ending Ateneo’s hopes of a fifth set finale, 25-15.
Following today’s results, the AMVT seeks to improve in the standings when they go against the University of Santo Tomas Golden Spikers on Sunday, March 9, at 11:00 AM in the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (1): Batas – 22, Castro – 12, Gopio – 12, Salarzon – 10, Pacinio – 4, Gutierrez – 4, Yu – 3
FEU (3): Espartero – 21, Saavedra -21, Ndongala – 10, Absin – 7, Talisayan – 6, Martinez – 4, Mendoza – 2, Cacao – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-FEU: 23-25, 30-32, 25-23, 15-25
Current Standings (W-L):
- FEU Tamaraws (4-0)
- UST Golden Spikers (3-1)
- NU Bulldogs (3-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (2-2)
- DLSU Green Spikers (2-2)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (1-3)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-3)
- UE Red Warriors (0-4)
