THROUGHOUT ATENEO men’s volleyball history in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the Blue Spikers started from humble beginnings.
It wasn’t until last Season 76 that the team soared from seventh place and ended as the first runner-up, going up against the defending champions National University (NU) in the finals round.
“Last year, we did not expect anything. Our main goal last year was to enter the Final Four,” says Coach Oliver Almadro. “I commend my players, for they did not stop with what they had and they motivated themselves to enter the Finals.”
This Season 77, the Blue Spikers grabbed the opportunity to make it once again to the finals and eventually brought home the historic crown for the Blue and White.
Working towards the crown
After seeing the potential of the team in Season 76, the Blue Spikers aimed to make history by garnering their first championship title. With an advantage of a strong lineup of recruits and returning veterans, the team believed that they had a chance in dominating this season.
A notable rookie in the team is National Championship Athletic Association Juniors Most Valuable Player John Rivera, who earned his position in the starting six, replacing Neil Flores as the open spiker. Last season’s top recruits, Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player (MVP) Marck Espejo and Best Setter Ish Polvorosa, returned with a more mature style of play. Veteran players Rex Intal, Josh Villanueva and Team Captain Ysay Marasigan continued to lead the team this season on the offensive end. Senior players also stepped up as setter turned libero Tomie Rivera and Xavier Senoren served the team in their final year.
With a lineup filled with determined and hungry Blue Spikers, Ateneo immediately commenced their training camp for Season 77 one week after the previous season ended. They intensified their training schedule with a more rigorous program, resulting in twice- or thrice-a-day sessions throughout the year. Rarely were they given a once-a-day training schedule.
“Ever since we had our twice-a-day training, it would take up our entire day, as we started early morning and go home late at night,” says junior middle hitter Rex Intal in a mix of English and Filipino. “I would wake up 4:45 AM everyday and I go home 10 to 11 PM. It was very exhausting.”
The Blue Spikers were also given the opportunity to go to Thailand for training camp, together with the Lady Eagles, during the semestral break last October 2014. Throughout their stay in Thailand, they were exposed to a different playing style and were able to face outstanding players from the Thai and Vietnam clubs.
Their stay abroad served as a great experience for the team in preparation for the upcoming season, as they were able to pick up the new skills introduced to them and build a more formidable squad.
A season of streaks
With a top notch training program and a hungry mindset, the Blue Spikers gradually rose to the top of the ranks this season. The team opened the season with their first victory against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, but they followed with two painful losses against the Adamson Falcons and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers.
The Falcons bested the team with their formidable play and the Blue Spikers surrendered most of their points to them due to the errors committed throughout the game. Ateneo’s following game was a close fight against Growling tigers, but the España- based team claimed victory through the slim margin of points won in errors.
After faltering in two consecutive games of the season, the Blue Spikers immediately recovered in their following game with the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, where the Blue and White won in a three-set sweep.
The Blue Spikers continued to deliver in the next games until they matched up against their Season 76 Finals rival, the NU Bulldogs, in the last game of the first elimination round. The game proved to be more difficult than their previous matches as it dragged onto its fifth and final set. Focusing on their attacks and limiting their errors, the Blue Spikers were able to take the game and earn their most promising victory yet for the championship title.
After ending the first set of the eliminations with a standing of 5-2, the Blue Spikers were placed at the second seed, tied with UST. The Katipunan-based team opened the second round of eliminations with a game against the Adamson Falcons. After losing to them in the first round of eliminations, the team was ever more determined to secure a victory from this match-up. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Blue Spikers swept the game in a three set thriller and ended Adamson’s seven-game winning streak.
The succeeding matches were in favor of the Blue Spikers as they dominated the season with their 10-game winning streak. However, upon reaching their final game in the elimination rounds, they faced the formidable Growling Tigers once again.
Although many expected the game to be the Blue and White’s 12th straight win, UST triumphed over the Blue Spikers, when it was brought to the fifth and deciding set. Although most of the set was in favor of the Blue Spikers, the Tigers bounced back and took the game from them. This placed both teams at the top two seeds in the Final Four with a twice-to-beat advantage.
Claiming victory
With the rollercoaster of a ride in the elimination season, the Blue Spikers opened the semi-final round against the Adamson Falcons. In this game, the Katipunan-based players reached the peak of their skill, as they committed fewer errors, especially in service, and remained consistent with their attacks. Although, the Blue Spikers ceded the third set to the Falcons, they immediately sprung back into action and eventually earned their ticket to the final round.
The season intensified when the Growling Tigers lost their twice-to-beat advantage against the Bulldogs, which required another match to decide for the team who will secure the final round spot. The NU Bulldogs emerged as the victors of the deciding matchup and immediately advanced to the final round.
The faceoff in the last round between the Blue Spikers and the Bulldogs brought back Season 76 memories, but the Blue Spikers made sure that they would not let history repeat itself.
The first game of the best-of-three series ended in favor of the Blue Spikers as they won the match in four sets against the Bulldogs. This victory spiked up their optimism and hope in coming closer to the crown.
The second match kicked off with the awarding of the Phenom Espejo’s second straight MVP award plus the Best Attacker award. To boost their morale entering the most crucial game of the year, sophomore Polvorosa also defended his title this season as the Best Setter.
The clinching game proved to be a heated one as the Blue Spikers started slow by losing the first set to the opponent. But come the following sets, the Blue Spikers never felt hungrier for the championship title and took care of the rest of the match, with Espejo leading the charge. The level of their skill culminated during the championship set with their well-designed offensive setups as Intal ended the season with an emphatic running spike to secure their first UAAP gold.
As the team finally claimed the championship title they were gunning for the whole season, Polvorosa was awarded as the Finals MVP of Season 77.
Coach Almadro exclaimed his delight over the fulfillment of his mantra during the finals, “It was worth the wait.”
“Honestly, I was with Ateneo since Season 71, so it was our dream and I believed that dreams do come true,” expressed Almadro. “All it took was patience, hard work and faith.”
But being crowned the UAAP men’s volleyball champions of Season 77 has not satisfied the hunger of the team for more championships to come. The Blue Spikers are taking one step higher to defend their title for next seasons to come.
“We were all very happy and fulfilled to have grabbed the title for the first time, but at the same time, we are still hungry because the battle does not end here,” says Marasigan. “This is only the first and there will be more to come.”
