THE ATENEO Men’s Volleyball Team (AMVT) slipped out of the winning column in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Tournament after conceding to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Spikers, 25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 24-26, 11-15. The nailbiting matchup took place earlier today, February 25, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
This loss situates the Blue Eagles at third place with a 1-2 win-loss record in the first round of eliminations in the UAAP Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
Aimar Okeke led the charge for Ateneo with 26 points off 23 attacks and three blocks, while Golden Spiker Josh Ybañez was hailed Player of the Game with 27 attacks and two service aces.
Both teams welcomed the match with a series of runs, beginning with playmaker Enzo Gutierrez serving up an ace against Golden Spiker JJ Macam, 1-0. The Blue Eagles then mustered a 6-2 barrage highlighted by veteran wingers Amil Pacinio and Okeke’s offense, forcing UST Coach Odjie Mamon to call for a time out, 7-2.
Responding to the huddle, the Golden Spikers countered the Blue and White with a 6-2 run, courtesy of Macam and Trevor Valera’s attacks to cut Ateneo’s lead to one, 8-9. Exchanging points in the succeeding plays, Okeke and middle blocker Brian Castro marked down Sherwin Umandal’s backrow attempt to gain a two-point cushion, 12-10.
Midway through the set, erroneous plays on the side of UST handed Ateneo a six-point advantage, topped off by Okeke’s down-the-line hit, 17-11. The Blue and White maintained their lead at the tailend of the set, with Salarzon utilizing the Thomasians’ unstable net defense, 21-16. Pacinio attained set point off a block on outside hitter Gabby Hernandez, until Okeke converted a crosscourt kill to clinch the first set, 25-19.
Locking in the second set with momentum on their side, the Blue Eagles’ three-man wall rejected Ybañez’s attack, 1-1. While the Blue and White hustled to continue the hot streak, their solid floor defense collapsed after a surprise attack from Thomasian setter Dux Yambao, 5-7.
Grappling for a lead, both squads exchanged unforced errors from the service line, 10-11. Looking for a breakthrough, Gutierrez turned to Pacinio for a backrow bomb, 13-13. Despite the upper hand, however, the Katipunan-based unit fell victim to Ybañez’s powerful shots, 18-19.
Wary of the UST ace’s hot hand, Gutierrez activated Salarzon to level the board, 20-20. The deadlock persisted until 23-23, but the Blue Eagles were plagued by errors, allowing the Golden Spikers to claim the set, 24-26.
Adamant to avenge their loss, Okeke denied Joncriz Ayco entry to obtain the first point of the third set, 1-0. Piling up a lead, Blue Eagle Rodge Alejos converted consecutive points off attacks and a service ace for a three-point advantage, 6-3. However, Golden Spiker standouts Ybañez and Macam orchestrated an offensive barrage to place Ateneo at a one-point deficit, 9-8.
Responding to the España-based unit’s offense, Okeke focused on chipping points off the Thomasian net defenders, 12-11. Salarzon also followed through with back-to-back conversions to regain the Blue and White’s advantage, 16-13. After a UST time out, Ateneo failed to ground their floor defense, eliciting a 4-0 run in favor of the Golden Spikers, 16-17.
In spite of the setback, Okeke and Salarzon produced a 4-0 strike to nab a three-point cushion, 20-17. Pacinio followed suit with kills from the right wing that brought Ateneo to set point, 24-21. Castro then successfully blocked Hernandez’s attempted kill to achieve their second set win, 25-21.
Eager to close out the match, Okeke’s back-to-back kills and Pacinio’s monster rejection on Ybañez commenced the fourth set, 3-0. The España-based squad quickly responded with a three-point strike of their own, courtesy of Ybañez, 3-3. As both squads showcased their attacking prowess, Okeke outsmarted the yellow floor with a clever drop shot, 9-6.
Following a wave of blunders from UST, Ateneo stayed composed with Okeke blocking Yambao’s surprise spike, 12-11. Alejos then proceeded to stop the Odjie Mamon-coached squad’s two-point run, 14-15. The Blue Eagles cemented their defense to contain Ybañez’s elevation from the pipe, winning a long rally against the Gold and Black, 15-17.
Ateneo adjusted their strategy with a crucial substitution, as setter Eijra Taluban clocked in and activated a long-awaited connection with Castro, 18-19. At the latter part of the set, however, the Blue Eagles lost their rhythm as Okeke was emphatically rejected by Valera, 21-23. Despite the Katipunan-based squad’s efforts to close out the match, Salarzon’s attack error extended the game to a deciding frame, 24-26.
With the final set underway, Alejos commenced the play with a solid block of UST’s attack at the net, 1-0. Keeping their block formation intact, the Pacinio-Alejos wall denied Ybañez entry to keep a slim advantage, 3-2. However, the Gold and Black churned out a 4-1 strike courtesy of Macam and Ybañez to put pressure on Ateneo, 6-4.
Refusing to back down, Castro immediately converted a quick attack while Salarzon deflected Ayco’s kill attempt from the right wing to equalize at 7-all. Golden Spiker Macam then garnered back-to-back point off attacks, locating lapses in the Blue and White defense, 9-7. Although Pacinio scored the next point, Sampaloc’s 2-0 barrage prompted Ateneo Head Coach Vince Mangulabnan to call for a time out, 8-11.
Okeke spearheaded the Blue and White offense with a backrow attack, 9-12; however, middle blocker Valera astutely parried Okeke’s attempt to bring UST at match point, 14-10. Ateneo ultimately dropped the final set to the Golden Spikers, as Ybañez pounded the pavement with a crosscourt hit, 11-15.
Eager to bounce back from this five-set loss, the AMVT will go against archrivals De La Salle University Green Spikers on Sunday, March 1, at 9:00 AM in the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (2): Okeke – 26, Salarzon – 17, Pacinio – 13, Castro – 11, Alejos – 9, Gutierrez – 3
UST (3): Ybañez – 29, Macam – 12, Ayco – 9, Valera – 6, Umandal – 4, Catinsag – 3, Yambao – 3, Hernandez – 2
Set scores:
Ateneo-UST: 25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 24-26, 11-15
Current Standings (W-L):
- FEU Tamaraws (3-0)
- NU Bulldogs (2-1)
- UST Golden Spikers (2-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-2)
- UE Red Warriors (1-2)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (1-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-1)
- DLSU Green Spikers (0-2)
