A THREE-PEAT and another championship.
UST dominated the UAAP Season 72 volleyball wars with the Tiger Spikers scoring a rare third consecutive championship and their female counterparts ending a three-year title drought.
Riding on an immaculate slate going into the finals, the Tiger Spikers swept their archrival Far Eastern University (FEU), 25-21, 25-17, 25-21, last February 27 to claim the championship at a packed The Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Spikers repulsed defending champion De La Salle University, 25-18, 25-14, 16-25, 25-15, to secure the title in Game 2 of their best-of-three finals series. It was their first UAAP title in three years under coach Cesael de los Santos.
“There is nothing new in winning championships, but this is our first time to grab a three-peat,” Tiger Spikers coach Emil Lontoc said.
“I am glad that the team’s play has returned to its peak. We hadn’t lost a set since the start of the second round [of eliminations], and this left a good impact to the team.”
Harby Ilano fueled the Tiger Spikers’ opening salvo with his back-to-back aces followed by quick kills to jack up UST’s lead at 9-6. But FEU’s Kirk Beliran refused to yield the set as he tapped the ball offspeed, 23-19, before John Paul Torres handed UST an early 1-0 set advantage down the line, 25-21.
FEU controlled the tempo in the second set, 5-4, but UST felt at ease with Finals MVP Henry Pecaña’s offensive valor that leveled the game at 5-all. Jayson Ramos launched a 12-9 blast, supported by a Julius Sioson through-the-block push to pound FEU down. Best server Rey Karl Dimaculangan set up Ilano on an easy point, 23-15, followed by a Torres spike that blasted FEU’s defense to take the set, 25-17.
The Morayta-based squad tried to regroup in the third set, but the title-hungry Tiger Spikers shuttered an 8-all deadlock with Ramos’ unanticipated running attack. Nonetheless, FEU locked the scores to 13-apiece, which was broken by Ilano’s swift endline burst.
From then on, FEU faltered behind as Pecaña and Ilano’s fiery combination bagged the third set for UST, 25-18.
Ilano and Torres chalked up a combined 28 points for UST, while Ramos chipped in 10 points. Joshua Alcarde topscored for FEU with 13 points. “I thank God for everything He has given for the team,” Pecaña said.
In their previous game, the Tiger Spikers asserted their dominance after overthrowing FEU, 25-20, 25-22, 25-22, in the Finals opener last February 24. They also sent the University of the Philippines to an early vacation, 25-10, 25-19, 25-21, last February 20. They scored a Valentine’s Day heartbreaker against FEU, 25-21, 25-20, 25-13, at the end of the eliminations.
Equally deadly
Winning the championship was just as sweet for the Lady Spikers.
“It is really overwhelming because we won in all the games that we played since the start of this year [2010]. We were really confident after winning Game 1 and we came to today’s game with high morale,” Delos Santos said. “We dedicate this victory to coach August Santamaria.”
Santamaria is the former Lady Spikers head coach who suffered a stroke three years ago which forced him to retire from coaching.
UST punctuated the opening set with early aces from Rhea Dimaculangan, Angeli Tabaquero and Maruja Banaticla, bolstered by a running spike from Dindin Santiago. Back-to-back hits from Banaticla iced the set at 25-18.
The Lady Spikers continued their onslaught in the second set with a series of attacks from Aiza Maizo, and the rest of the squad before Tabaquero’s off-the-block hit gave the set to UST, 25-14.
This momentum carried on to the next set, with Tabaquero’s off-the-block hit giving UST a 2-0 set advantage, 25-18.
In the third set, however, UST committed a lot of unforced errors which allowed La Salle to establish a 9-point cushion, 8-17, anchored on Jacq Alarca’s persistent attacks and Charleen Cruz’s consistent blocking.
A pair of quick kills from Maika Ortiz and Santiago tried to lift UST from the slump, but La Salle kept its poise to secure the set, 14-25.
Come the fourth set, the Lady Spikers was down by as much as five points from a series of offensive errors, but the lead evaporated after La Salle committed faults of its own. A 7-0 run sparked by Tabaquero placed the Lady Spikers back on the driver seat, 14-10. UST never looked back from then on.
Twin drop shots from Maizo bulldozed La Salle’s defense allowing UST to surge ahead, 18-12, before Maizo displayed her own blocking prowess, 24-13. Finally, a kill from Tabaquero sealed the deal for the jubilant España squad.
Tabaquero topscored for the Lady Spikers with 13 points while Alarca and Maraño chipped in ten points each for La Salle. Rhea Dimaculangan was also awarded Best Server in the league and Finals MVP.
“I am very happy because I never expected the recognition. But I knew we would win over La Salle today because they lost their momentum [since we defeated them in February],” Dimaculangan said.
In their previous games, the Lady Spikers routed La Salle in the Game 1 of their Finals, 24-26, 25-23, 25-16, 25-21, last February 24 and swept Ataneo De Manila University in the semi-finals, 25-12, 25-23, 25-20, last February 20. The Lady Spikers also escaped a grueling five-setter match on February 14, 23-25, 25-20, 26-28, 25-16, 15-12, to close the elimination round.
