Tiger Spikers reign supreme

17-0.

This, beyond words, aptly epitomized volleyball supremacy in the UAAP today. And the UST Tiger Spikers could not agree less.

Needing just another win to complete their title encore, the defending champion Tiger Spikers made sure Game 2 of their best-of-three finals tussle with the University of the Philippines (UP) would be the fitting highlight of their flawless Season 71 campaign as they ripped the Maroons apart, 25-22, 25-14, 25-17 last March 4 at The Arena in San Juan.

“We expected to win the championships after sizing-up UP who never won any set in our previous games against them. We were not threatened at all,” coach Emil Lontoc told the Varsitarian.

True enough, the Tiger Spikers, despite falling behind, 7-12, early in the first set, hardly showed signs of panic, and instead banked on the combined efforts of John Torres, Henry Pecaña and Jayson Ramos to rally UST back in the game, 19-all. Ramos then fueled the Tiger Spikers’ comeback with a blizzard of quick kills to hand UST a 1-0 set advantage.

Feeding on Pecaña’s offensive energy come second set, the Tiger Spikers launched an 11-4 blast to shatter an 8-all deadlock and overtake UP by a mile, 19-13. UST later sealed the second canto with a six-point swing from Torres and Ramos.

UST opened the third set with an imposing net defense anchored on Torres and Ramos, who took turns in foiling UP gunner Michael Jordan Ardan’s open attacks. With Ardan in check, the Maroons struggled on offense, raking only most of their points off UST’s errors. From a 12-all standoff, the Tiger Spikers then delivered the exclamation with a crippling 13-6 onslaught to complete their title-retention bid.

Torres and Pecaña each tallied 15 points for UST, while Mark Sagad chalked up nine markers to pace UP.

UST also won individual awards with veteran setter Rey Karl Dimaculangan earning the Most Valuable Player and Best Server plums. Ramos and Pecaña were adjudged as Best Attacker and Best Digger, respectively.

Back in Game 1 of the finals, UST orchestrated a 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 demolition of UP to claim their 16th straight victory last March 1. Torres posted ten attacks for UST while Johnal Pamintuan scored nine for UP.

In the semifinals, the twice-to-beat UST easily disposed of Ateneo de Manila University, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20, last Feb. 21 to match its 25-15, 25-16, 25-17 Valentine’s Day jilting of the same team back in the eliminations.

The Tiger Spikers capped their remaining games in the second round with victories over National University (25-21, 25-14, 25-20, 25-21) last Feb. 8, University of the East (25-21, 25-15, 25-17) last Feb. 4 and Adamson University (25-21, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20 last Feb. 1.

Out of the finals

In the women’s side, not even its morale-boosting playoff win against Adamson could help UST dent the twice-to-beat edge of Far Eastern University (FEU) as the Lady Spikers absorbed a 14-25, 25-19, 22-25, 23-25 Final Four loss, pulling them out of championship contention last Feb. 23.

Predictable plays and weak defensive positioning threw UST off, as FEU’s Rachel Ann Daquis fired down-the-line kills, backed by an even more feisty offense from Shaira Gonzales which enabled the Lady Tamaraws to seize the first set.

With frontliner Aiza Maizo catching fire in the second frame, UST erased a 3-8 deficit to tie the count at 12-apiece. UST reaped four defensive points from its three-lady blocking ploy to rule the second set despite Gonzales’ late-game heroics.

FEU’s unforced errors early in the third set did not stop the Morayta-based spikers from gaining momentum anew. UST tried to catch FEU with a 4-0 run, cutting the deficit by one, 21-22. But an error from rookie Judy Ann Caballejo drove FEU to set point before the defending champions finally capped the set, 25-22.

Gonzales then took the cudgels from Daquis in the fourth set to give FEU a 6-11 buffer . But the Lady Spikers were unfazed, tightening UST’s defensive screws to even up, 19-all, at the turn. Another series of exchange locked the contest at 22-all. But that was UST’s last stand as Daquis thwarted a Maizo attack before logging in two more points to ice the game.

Maizo, who was named Best Attacker, and Daquis each scattered 20 points to pace their respective teams.

The Lady Spikers secured the third spot in the Final Four pairings with a 22-25, 25-16, 27-25, 25-23 play-off domination of Adamson on Valentine’s Day. Late in the second round of eliminations, UST prevailed over National University (25-21, 25-14, 20-25, 25-21) last Feb. 8, University of the East (25-21 25-15 25-17) last Feb. 4 and Adamson (25-21, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20) last Feb. 1. With reports from Paul Nicholas P. Dimerin.