BOLSTERING their chances of grabbing a “three-peat,” the UST Tiger Spikers demolished pesky Ateneo de Manila University, 19-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-10, to claim their third straight win in the 72nd UAAP men’s volleyball tournament at the Blue Eagle Gym last December 12.
The two-time defending champions relied on the sturdy quartet of Season 71 beach volleyball Most Valuable Player Henry Pecaña, Salvador Depante, John Paul Torres and Harby Ilano to keep a pristine 20-game winning streak which carried on from last season.
“The team is highly motivated. As long as we maintain our composure and attitude towards every game, I think we can repeat a sweep,” coach Emil Lontoc said.
Despite an early 6-1 blast in the opening set, UST’s poor reception and service errors enabled Ateneo to break away from a 10-all deadlock through attacks on the back row, before Ateneo’s AJ Pareja buried his set-finisher down the line, 19-25.
In the second quarter, UST kept a close fight and locked the set seven times. Quick hits from Pareja and Eduardo Ortega led Ateneo’s runaway, 20-14. Vian Paul Serranilla made a long serve, 19-24, before Neil Patrick Flores punched the ball through the blockers of UST.
“Certain factors such as our early call time affected the players’ performance today—their bodies were not in an excellent condition,” Lontoc said.
But the Tiger Spikers shocked their senses in the third frame with a 7-0 run bolstered by Depante’s series of angled crosscourt hits. Jayson Ramos smashed a quick kill onslaught before Atenean Justin Lawrence Tec’s service error gave UST an easy match point, 24-17.
Ateneo retaliated in the fourth set, trouncing UST with quick hits from Pareja, 9-15. However, UST’s frontline attackers heated up as Ateneo failed to respond to Torres’ back-to-back crosscourt assaults, 22-21. Ateneo turned out panicky, failing to receive Depante’s soft tip that iced the set for UST.
In the fifth frame, the Tiger Spikers forged a 10-all deadlock via Ray Carl Dimaculangan’s consecutive service aces before Ilano blocked John Joseph Sandoval, giving UST a win.
In the previous match, the Tiger Spikers prevailed over Adamson University 25-13, 25-13, 23-25, 25-16, last December 9 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
UST mainstays Torres and Pecaña top-scored with 17 and 13 successful attack points, respectively, while Ron Jay Galang produced 12 points for Adamson.
The Tiger Spikers easily outwitted De La Salle University, 25-8, 25-15, 23-25, 25-16, in the tournament’s curtain match at the Arena in San Juan last December 6.
Team effort
Meanwhile, the Lady Spikers proved that teamwork wins games after trouncing the Cherry Vivas-dependent Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, in a set-sweeping fashion, 25-18, 29-27, 25-21, at the Arena in San Juan last December 13.
“I told them that winning is not only centered on blocking [Vivas]. There are many other ways. They played good but I hope they recover from their errors soon,” head coach Cesael de los Santos said. “We have a long season. All we need is patience.”
Court smarts of prized rookie Maruja Banaticla and veteran Angeli Tabaquero in the third set paved way for an-all UST match.
Banaticla did most of the damage in the attacking department while Tabaquero converted back-to-back service aces at the start of the final set, which gave the Lady Spikers the cushion they needed.
UST banked on Banaticla’s persistent attacks which turned into kills in the opening set.
Consistent blocking from Maika Ortiz solidified UST’s early pull-away, 13-7, before another barrage of kills from Banaticla gave the lead to UST, 22-15.A rotational error from the FEU side finally gave the set to UST, 25-18.
However, the Lady Spikers fell into offensive errors in the second set, which allowed the Lady Tamaraws to gain a 10-12 advantage. But a 4-0 run courtesy of attacks from Ortiz and Aiza Maizo brought the lead back to UST, 14-12.
Vivas tried to stop the bleeding for FEU toward the end of the set with a series of off-the-block attacks to gain set-point advantage, 23-24, but a block from a Maizo and pair of unforced errors from the Lady Tamaraws iced the set at 29-27.
The Lady Tamaraws started slow in the third set, allowing the Lasy Spikers to have the advantage, 9-4, but an all-Vivas 8-0 run forced a 13-all deadlock halfway through the set.
Good anticipation from Denise Santiago returned the wheel to UST, 17-16. UST never looked back from then on, as a top spin spike from Tabaquero gave the match to the España crew, 25-21.
Banaticla topscored for UST with 15 points while Vivas led FEU with 24 points.
In their previous game, the Lady Spikers preyed on the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons with another straight-set victory, 25-18, 25-15, 25-20, last December 11.
Banaticla and Maika Ortiz combined for 27 points to give UST its first win.
Meanwhile, the Lady Spikers surrendered to defending champions De La Salle University Lady Archers, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 11-15, to open their season with a dismal start last December 8.
Team captain Aiza Maizo powered UST with 24 points while Banaticla produced 18 points. Charizze L. Abulencia, Alexis Ailex C. Villamor, Jr., and Mary Athena D. de Paz
