THE ATENEO Blue Eagles came up short against the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws to conclude their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 elimination round stint, 25-22, 25-23, 12-25, 21-25, 11-15. The Blue and White’s final contest was held earlier today, April 22, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
In their final game of the season, Dona De Leon led the Blue Eagles’ offense with 15 points. Alongside her, JLo Delos Santos and Ana Hermosura notched 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
The Blue Eagles soared to an early lead due to consecutive errors from the Lady Tamaraws and an offensive flurry from Zey Pacia’s attacks, 6-1. However, Ateneo failed to keep their energy, allowing FEU to crawl back before the first technical timeout, 8-6.
Eager to sustain momentum, the Blue and White were immediately rewarded with two easy points due to errors from the Green and Gold, 10-6. Additional faults from the Recto-based squad allowed the Katipunan-based squad to pull away, with Jihan Chuatico and Hermosura chipping in points to inflate Ateneo’s advantage, 15-9.
Despite the early lead, the Blue Eagles’ continuous mistakes allowed the Lady Tamaraws to be within one point, 18-17, and soon after, a rotational fault from Ateneo placed FEU in the driver’s seat, 20-21. Remaining unfazed, however, De Leon fired a quick down-the-line attack to regain control for the Blue and White, 23-21. Ultimately, Delos Santos sealed the deal with a cross-court spike for the first set victory, 25-22.
Unable to carry over their set win, the Blue Eagles’ offense had no response to the two-man defense of Lady Tamaraws Jazlyn Ellarina and Lovely Lopez, 2-4. Shifting gears, the Blue Eagles relied on De Leon’s back-to-back points for a slim one-point lead, 8-7.
Picking up where Ateneo left off, Delos Santos exited the technical intermission with an emphatic off-the-block attack, 9-7. As FEU’s Faida Bakanke continued to commit crucial faults, Delos Santos produced more points for Ateneo. Aided by De Leon and Hermosura’s down-the-line plays, the Blue Eagles found themselves up by five, 16-11.
Ateneo was momentarily placed on their heels as FEU embarked on a series of mini runs. Responding accordingly was Zel Tsunashima, who converted two consecutive points for the Katipunan-based squad to reinforce control, 19-14. From there, the Lady Tamaraws unleashed a 4-0 run, but a service ace from Karyll Miranda kept Ateneo in front, 19-18.
Determined to create further separation, an off-the-block hit courtesy of Hermosura drew Ateneo to set point, 24-21. Although FEU’s Kyle Pendon generated two immediate points, a block from Jihan Chuatico allowed the Blue Eagles to prevail in the second set, 25-23.
Hungry for a straight-set win, Delos Santos welcomed the third set with a swift kill 1-0. Not long after, the Lady Tamaraws quickly established dominance with a 4-0 run, 2-5. Even with cross-court attacks from Hermosura and Pacia, FEU remained in front, 4-8.
Exiting the huddle, the Blue Eagles struggled to contain Lady Tamaraw Mitzi Panangin, who crafted three straight points for FEU, 5-10. Although Delos Santos managed to pierce the Lady Tamaraws’ wall, two back-to-back points before the second technical timeout pushed the Blue Eagles into a double-digit deficit, 6-16.
Delos Santos once again provided a glimmer of hope through a block point, 6-18. However, the Blue Eagles had no response to the Lady Tamaraws’ attacks from all ends of the floor, 8-20. Momentum briefly shifted as Yssa Nisperos entered the Taraflex, contributing three attack points, 12-21. However, FEU immediately fired back with a 3-0 run to seal the third set, 12-25.
To begin the fourth set, De Leon displayed a variety of attacks, such as a high-angled kill that leveled the playing field early on, 2-2. However, Ateneo began playing catch-up as FEU extended its lead behind key points from Kyle Pendon, 4-5. Coupled with several errors from the Loyola-Heights-based group, the Blue Eagles dropped to a three-point hole, 5-8.
The Lady Tamaraws wasted no time from the offensive front, conjuring up a 4-0 run that was capped off by a down-the-line attack from Paningin, 5-12. In response, Tsunashima orchestrated a 4-0 run for the Blue Eagles to draw the team within three, 9-12. While glimpses of Ateneo’s offensive firepower were on display, these were coupled with errors that kept the deficit at three heading into the second technical timeout, 13-16.
In the closing moments of the set, the Blue and White inched closer to their counterparts following a series of conversions from Nisperos, 17-19. After a cross-court smash from Tsunashima, Ateneo trimmed the deficit to one, 18-19. However, Lady Tamaraw Panangin silenced the Blue Eagles once again with two block points alongside faults from the side of Ateneo, 19-23. Closing out the set, the Blue Eagles were unable to return Lovely Lopez’s down-the-line kill, giving the set to FEU and subsequently forcing a fifth set, 21-25.
With the game on the line, the Blue Eagles left it all on the floor during the deciding set. Early challenges were presented as Ateneo’s attacks could not break the FEU defensive wall, 1-3.
De Leon then delivered a down-the-line kill before a Tsunashima drop shot to keep the Blue and White in the fight, 3-4. Hermosua then contributed her share of the offensive load with a quick attack of her own, 5-6. However, on-court miscommunication plagued Ateneo , allowing the likes of Lopez to notch easy points, 6-9.
Refusing to go down without a fight, a diagonal kill from Tsunashima cut the deficit to one, 9-10. However, fatigue began to set in for Ateneo, allowing FEU to enlarge their advantage, which moved them closer to victory, 9-13. Despite one last attack from Tsunashima, 10-13, the Blue Eagles fell short in their fifth-set comeback effort after net faults from Chuatico, 10-15.
With the Blue Eagles unable to secure a spot in the Final Four, the Loyola Heights-based tandem now regroups in the hopes of better things to come next Season 89.
Box scores:
Ateneo (2): De Leon – 15, Delos Santos – 12, Hermosura – 10, Tsunashima – 9, Nisperos – 6, Chuatico – 6, Pacia – 5, Cortez – 1
FEU (3): Petallo – 17, Lopez – 13, Pendon – 13, Bakanke – 11, Loresco – 10, Ellarina – 9, Panangin – 9, Ubaldo – 3, Miranda – 2, Pons -1
Set scores:
Ateneo-FEU: 25-22, 25-23, 12-25, 21-25, 11-15
Current Standings (W-L):
- De La Salle Lady Spikers (14-0)**
- NU Lady Bulldogs (9-4)*
- AdU Lady Falcons (9-5)*
- UST Golden Tigresses (8-5)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (8-6)
- UP Fighting Maroons (5-9)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (2-12)
- UE Lady Red Warriors (0-14)
** – Clinched Finals Berth
* – Clinched Stepladder
