THE ATENEO Blue Spikers tally their second straight loss in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines as they dropped their matchup against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers in five sets, 20-25, 25- 22, 17- 25, 25- 20, 15-12, on Saturday, November 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

This loss puts the Blue Spikers at 1-2 in the elimination round standings.

Though the Blue Spikers accumulated a total of 104 points as compared to UST’s 102, the boys in blue and white still faltered in five sets with a slim margin on points won in errors. The Tigers were able to force a buffer round care of a 25-20 fourth set score. The España-based squad eventually pulled away in the fifth set with the score of 15-12.

Ateneo scored 30 points care of their opponents mistakes while the Tigers tallied 34 on the Blue Spikers’ miscues. The Tigers also carried the slim advantage from the service zone as UST scored six compared to Ateneo’s four.

Leading scorer Marck Espejo topped the team in scoring with 25 points followed up by Ysay Marasigan with 18, Rex Intal with 17, Ishmael Rivera with seven, Xavier Senoren with six and Ish Polvoroza with one. Polvoroza distributed the ball with 46 excellent sets while Bartolome Rivera notched 13 digs.

The Blue Spikers will face off the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons at 8:00 in the morning on Saturday, December 6, at the Fil Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Scores:

Ateneo: Espejo- 25, Marasigan- 18, Intal- 17, I. Rivera- 7, Senoren- 6, Polvoroza- 1

UST: Alfafara- 22, Rico- 20, Francisco- 11, Castillo- 5, Bautista- 3, Lopez- 3, Tajanlangit- 1, Dela Cruz- 1