THE ATENEO Blue Eagles returned to the win column after outlasting the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors during their first-round ender, 25-14, 25-17, 25-20. The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 bout took place earlier today, March 14, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
This victory provisionally places the Blue Eagles at fourth place in the UAAP Men’s Volleyball Tournament with a 3-4 win-loss standing.
Team Captain Jian Salarzon led the way for the Blue and White, tallying 15 points off 12 attacks and three blocks. Veterans Amil Pacinio and Kennedy Batas followed suit, contributing eight and five points, respectively.
Commencing the first set, Salarzon delivered an early missile from the pipe, 1-0. Ateneo continued to pressure their foes with tough serves that disrupted the UE’s reception patterns, 4-1. As the Red Warriors began catching up, the Blue Eagles then blocked Raquim Aceron’s heated entry, 8-3.
The Katipunan-based squad sustained their momentum from the service line with an ace from Enzo Gutierrez, 10-5. Despite increased offensive pressure from UE, the Blue and White scored from out-of-system plays courtesy of Pacinio, 12-6. Batas then extended the streak as he broke through the red blockade set up by Lance Perit, 16-9.
Capitalizing on the Red and White’s blunders, Salarzon added to the tally with clever placements into the open corners of UE’s defense, 18-11. Pacinio followed suit, delivering back-to-back points laced with attacking variety to extend the lead further, 21-12. The Blue Eagles kept the momentum hot as Karl Reyes checked in with a kill block against Red Warrior Aceron to close the canto, 25–14.
Determined to pick up where they left off, Salarzon powered the Blue Eagles’ early barrage in the second frame with consecutive hits from the left wing, 3-0. Supplementing the charge, Batas and Rodge Alejos delivered rapid attacks at the net, 5-2. Latching onto Gutierrez’s pinpoint distribution, Pacino then dispatched a vicious right-wing hit to forge a comfortable lead at 9-3.
Despite their comfortable cushion, Ateneo struggled to fend off UE’s probing attackers, trimming their advantage to five at 11-6. Intent on negating UE’s growing momentum, Salarzon contributed an off-the-block hit and a kill to shift the tide back in favor of the Blue Eagles, 14-6. A Gutierrez service ace then granted the Blue Eagles a double-digit advantage, 16-6. Building on this, Pacinio launched a monstrous attack from right pin to keep the Recto-based squad at bay, 17-6.
Marking his entry in the match, Preece Atendido delivered a right pin conversion at the tail end of the canto, 22-10. Despite their promising advantage, Ateneo found themselves on the receiving end of a late-game 7-1 UE blitz, spearheaded by Red Warrior Aceron’s quick attacks, 23-17. Resolute on ending the cold streak, Salarzon then scored off a quick maneuver to stop the bleeding for the Katipunan-based squad, 24-17. The Blue Eagles never looked back since then as Batas’ emphatic pipe attack secured the set for Ateneo at 25-17.
With the Blue Eagles looking to clinch a sweep, the third frame witnessed an exchange of service errors from both squads, 2-1. Seeing the Red Warriors’ fortified net defense, Batas and Alejos were rejected by UE’s Aceron and Marl Budias, resulting in a four-point deficit, 2-6. Alejos then proceeded to stop the bleeding, rejecting Budias at the net, 3-6.
Miguel Yu entered the court with confidence, executing a crafty soft touch to cut the deficit to 8-9. Following a trade of attacks between the two teams, Salarzon stepped harder on the gas with a cross-court bomb, tying the score at 13-13. As the canto went on, the Blue Eagles struggled to anticipate Lance Perit’s quick hits from the middle, 15-17.
Eager to turn the odds back to the Blue and White’s favor, Salarzon capitalized on a cross-court conversion courtesy of UE’s faulty passing, 15-17. The Recto-based unit’s consecutive blunders and consistent offense from Ateneo’s Salarzon and Yu fueled an 8-0 run, 23-17. An attack error from the Red and White sealed the straight-set victory for the Katipunan-based unit, 25-20.
Determined to boost their Final Four chances, the Blue Eagles look to further ascend through the standings as they enter the second cycle of preliminaries. As of writing, the UAAP has yet to release a schedule for the second round of eliminations.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Salarzon – 15, Pacinio – 8, Batas – 5, Yu – 4, Alejos – 4, Gutierrez – 4, Castro – 1, Atendido – 1, Reyes – 1
UE (0): Aceron – 14, Budias – 4, Piojo – 3, Perit – 3, Camaymayan – 3, Rada – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-UE: 25-14, 25-17, 25-20
Current Standings (W-L):
- FEU Tamaraws (6-0)
- NU Bulldogs (5-1)
- UST Golden Spikers (5-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-4)
- DLSU Green Spikers (2-4)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-4)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (1-5)
- UE Red Warriors (1-6)
