DESPITE AN impeccable showing from the Blue Eagles, Ateneo fell to the mighty National University (NU) Bulldogs, 11-25, 26-28, 25-16, 23-25, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Men’s Volleyball Tournament. The Blue and White’s final elimination match was held earlier today at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in the City of San Juan.
Ateneo’s shaky first balls plagued their first set, as the misreceptions disabled Egie Magadia from orchestrating any offensive plays for the Blue Eagles. Three straight loaded serves from the Bulldogs only bolstered their already solid cushion, 16-5. The opening set ended swiftly as the highflying Michaelo Buddin and Kennry Malinis pounded on Ateneo’s defense, 11-25, in favor of NU.
In the second set, Ateneo exhibited a more consistent level of play, forcing multiple deadlocks throughout the set. An early 3-0 run from the Blue Eagles, courtesy of Kennedy Batas’ off-the-block hit, allowed them to enter the first technical timeout with a short 8-7 lead. NU’s Almendros chipped away at Ateneo’s defenses, pushing the score to 16-15, in favor of the Bulldogs. Jian Salarzon sparked an offensive resurgence of his own, producing three consecutive markers for the Blue Eagles, 21-19. In the latter moments of the set, attack errors halted any momentum for the Blue and White and allowed their opponents to close the scoring gap. A final miscalculated hit from Salarzon ended the extended set, 26-28.
Ateneo and NU opened the third canto with a similarly slow start for both teams. However, the Katipunan-based squad began to ramp up points with the help of Batas and Salarzon taking advantage of their opponent’s unstable net defense. Despite consecutive service errors from Ateneo, the Batas-Salarzon firepower blasted through NU’s defenses, bringing the Blue Eagles up 17-12. With a better presence of mind in crucial moments, Ateneo continued to pull away with a large lead, eventually taking the set at 25-16.
Set 4 went down to the wire with both teams constantly exchanging points. The Bulldogs gained the upper hand early on in the set with a 4-0 unanswered run before entering the second technical timeout, 16-10. NU’s lead grew up to as much as six points, 18-12, but was put to a halt by emphatic kills from the Blue and White which allowed them to catch up late in the set, 20-22. Buddin eventually stopped the bleeding for NU with back-to-back smashes to close out the set and the match, 23-25.
The Blue Eagles await the matchups of the Far Eastern University Tamaraw Spikers and De La Salle University Green Spikers to determine the outcome of the three-way tie and the Final Four roster.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Batas – 32, Salarzon – 14, Absin – 8, Gopio – 7, Llenos – 6
NU: Buddin – 19, Malinis – 17, Almendras – 12, Mukaba – 9, Diao – 6, Retamar – 4, Fortuna – 1
Set Scores: 11-25, 26-28, 25-16, 23-25
