THE Ateneo-Fudgee Barr Blue Eagles (AFBE) opened the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference with a loss over the Volleyball Never Stops (VNS) One-Alicia Griffins, 2-3. The Blue and White failed to contain their unforced errors in the five-set showdown and bowed out to the VNS Griffins, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 9-15, earlier today at the Paco Arena in the City of Manila.
This loss is the first game for the Blue Eagles in the single round-robin tournament. After the elimination round, only the top four teams will move forward to the semifinals.
VNS’ John Benedict San Andres led his team with 20 points, dominating the game with 17 spikes coming out of his 38 attempts. Kevin Montemayor also contributed to the five-set win and served as the team’s second-best scorer with 14 points.
Meanwhile, Ateneo rookie Amil Pacinio led his squad with 20 points, with 18 coming from his attacks at the wing. His fellow rookies—Kennedy Batas and Jian Salarzon—notched 17 and 15 markers, respectively, yet were unable to close out the strong offense of VNS.
Throughout the match, the Blue Eagles struggled to limit their errors in the service line and maximize their offensive strategies. Despite the errors, the young Katipunan-based squad exhibited powerful hits from the crosscourt and down-the-line areas and managed to score a cumulative 51 successful attacks.
[Set 4]
— Angela Grace W. Tibudan (@Elle_TheGUIDON) August 30, 2022
Pacinio sends it down the line.
Ateneo 21 VNS 18 #SpikersTurf pic.twitter.com/95ZpJ2eZ7D
Ateneo dominated the service line as they used a variety of services that allowed them to notch six aces as opposed to VNS’ five. In terms of defensive strongholds, both teams were able to tally five blocks for their own squads.
[Set 2]
— Angela Grace W. Tibudan (@Elle_TheGUIDON) August 30, 2022
Ateneo secures the second set after a successful block by Batas.
Ateneo 25 VNS 22#SpikersTurf pic.twitter.com/6AgJcqMlff
Salarzon emphasized the necessary improvements for the Blue Eagles’ next games, “Siguro [improvements] sa team is yung chemistry namin tas yung communication namin sa gitna ng court. And then siguro individually is yung mga service namin. (Maybe improvements for the team is our chemistry and communication in the middle of the court. And then maybe individually is our service).”
VNS setter and former Blue Eagle Esmilzo Polvorosa shared his thoughts on AFBE’s performance in today’s game – “First of all, I want to give credit where credit is due. [AFBE] played well today.”
The 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference marks the first tournament for the Blue Eagles since the beginning of the pandemic, which precedes the upcoming University Athletic Association of the Philippines season. The team is composed of new faces, with only three veterans—Lance de Castro, Jettlee Gopio, and Abai Llenos—returning from Season 82.
The Blue and White will face the Philippine Navy Men’s Volleyball Team on Thursday, September 1 at 5:30 PM in Paco Arena, Manila. The games are streamed in OneSport and can be live streamed at Cignal Play, Smart Gigaplay and Spikers’ Turf official website: https://spikersturf.ph/live.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Pacinio – 20, Batas – 17, Salarzon – 15, Gopio – 5, Absin – 3, Go – 1, Crisostomo – 1
VNS: San Andres – 20, Montemayor – 14, Mendoza – 10, Adviento – 9, Malabunga – 8, Doria – 2, Polvorosa – 2, Merat – 1, Oliver – 1
Set Scores:
Ateneo-VNS: 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 9-15
