THE ATENEO Blue Spikers began from humble beginnings and are now finally crowned the champions of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77.

The champion team faced last year’s defending champions, the National University Bulldogs, once again in the finals. Unlike the heartbreaking loss in the same match-up last season, the Blue Spikers earned their title and defeated the Bulldogs in four sets, 23- 25, 25-23, 25- 23, 25-15, on Saturday, March 7, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Blue Spikers earned their victory by winning two out of the three games in the best of three series and emerged as the champions with a series sweep of 2-0.

Aside from garnering the overall championship title, the team did not fail to garner outstanding individual awards. Dubbed as the “Phenom,” Marck Espejo defended his title as the UAAP Men’s Volleyball Most Valuable Player. Ish Polvorosa also remained as the league’s Best Setter.

The Blue Spikers came out strong in the first set with the usual starting six players, as they garnered an early lead against the Bulldogs at 8-6 by the first technical time out. But as the set drew to a close, a seesaw battle between the teams favored the Bulldogs, as they took the first set with the help of the errors from the Blue and White.

The second and third sets were a close fight between both teams, who both committed a multitude of errors. However, Blue Spikers regained their focus on their attacks and combination plays, with Espejo leading the charge on the offensive end. Both sets ended in favor of the Blue Spikers.

Come the last and the championship set of the Blue Spikers, the team placed all their efforts into their attacks and minimizing their errors. With leading attackers mustering their entire prowess, they were able to gain a comfortable 19-12 advantage. The Blue Spikers never looked back, as Rex Intal delivered the final blow with a running spike, 25-15.

The Blue Spikers had a 12-point difference against the Bulldogs. They also tallied seven team blocks and eight service aces.

Espejo dominated the team in scoring with 33 points followed up by Marasigan with 14 and Intal with 9. Polvorosa distributed the ball with 36 excellent sets as he facilitated the team’s offensive flow, garnering him the Finals Most Valuable Player recognition.

Full story to follow.

Ateneo: Espejo – 33, Marasigan – 14, Intal – 9, Villanueva – 8, I. Rivera – 6, Polvorosa – 2

NU: Torres –12, Tolentino – 8, Paglinawan – 7, Inaudito – 6, Baysac – 6, Ismail – 5, Mangulabnan – 4