THE ATENEO Blue Eagles were overwhelmed by the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws in four sets, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 22-25, in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Men’s Volleyball Tournament semi-finals on Saturday, May 4, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

This loss ends the season for the Blue Eagles who will finish with a bronze medal if National University (NU) wins over University of Santo Tomas (UST) in their semi-finals series.

Blue Eagles Head Coach Timothy Sto. Tomas fielded his usual starting lineup of Gian Glorioso, Chu Njigha, Egie Magadia, Tony Koyfman, Ron Medalla, Jan Rivera, and Manuel Sumanguid at libero. Service specialist and second setter Bok Morado came in off the bench in all sets while Basti Cuerva and Kurt Aguilar checked in in the second, third, and fourth sets.

Koyfman was the top-scorer with 21 points while fellow graduating player Rivera came away with a triple double on 15 points, 11 excellent digs, and 19 excellent receives. Sumanguid was his usual self in terms of floor defense as he notched 19 excellent receives and 15 excellent digs while Njigha guarded the net with three kill blocks and eight rebounds. What turned out to be the decisive statistic, however, was Ateneo’s 37 errors, including 21 service faults, in contrast to 25 FEU errors.

It was a tight battle in the first set but the Blue Eagles defended FEU, preventing the Tamaraws from scoring on consecutive rallies up until the second technical timeout (TTO), 16-13. Errors on both sides kept it close but poor receives by the Tamaraws gave away easy points. An attack error by RJ Paler ended the set in favor of the Blue and White, 25-21.

Despite losing the first set, the Tamaraws were able to bounce back quick as exceptional blocking and some unforced errors allowed them to take a four-point lead entering the first TTO, 4-8. Back-to-back kills towards Ateneo’s zone five forced the Blue Eagles to call timeout, 6-11, which was countered by consecutive kill blocks that forced FEU to talk things over, 10-12. At the second TTO, FEU still led by two after a service error from Medalla, 14-16.

The two teams continued to trade runs for the rest of the set with Ateneo calling a timeout with FEU at set point after a Medalla spike hit the antenna, 22-24. Medalla scored on the following rally despite the triple block but they gave up the last point with a long return despite the excellent floor defense, 23-25.

The Blue Eagles came out on fire to start the third set, scoring off two kill blocks in a 4-0 run. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, multiple errors allowed FEU to tie the game off an attack error by Koyfman, 12-12. A 7-2 scoring run later on put FEU ahead by three, 20-22. The teams went back and forth but a service error by Cuerva gave up set point, 22-25. In the third set alone, the Blue Eagles committed 13 errors to gift FEU a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The FEU Tamaraws started out well in the fourth set as a hit on the regalo by JP Bugaoan gave them the four-point lead entering the first TTO, 4-8. The Blue Eagles tried to mount a comeback with a 3-0 run before the second TTO but it was cut short by a service error from Medalla, 12-16. Errors plagued the Blue Eagles as they failed to gain any momentum against the Tamaraws. Jude Garcia took match point with a running spike, 22-25.

Rivera had mixed emotions after the game as he was on his last playing year and will no longer be able to redeem himself in the next season. Nevertheless, the veteran wing spiker felt accomplished as his team carried their weight, remaining competitive despite losing key players.

Koyfman had this to say about his return to the UAAP: “I still felt that I had something to prove and along the way I couldn’t have done it without [my teammates].” The opposite hitter was grateful for what his team achieved and that they were able to prove doubters wrong.

Set Scores

Ateneo-FEU: 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 22-25

Photo by James B. Gavina