February 27, 7:30 a.m.– THE TIGER Spikers successfully defended their crown after subduing archrival Far Eastern University (FEU) in a spectacular three-set knockout, 29-27, 26-24, 25-23, in the Game 2 of their best-of-three Finals series en route to a rare four-peat title at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
UST’s Salvador Depante III riddled FEU’s field with fiery hits and blocks on the attacks of the Morayta-based tossers to grip the heated first frame for the España-based squad, 29-27.
Tiger Spiker Jayson Ramos’ exploits near the net kept disrupting FEU’s momentum despite the efforts of Pitrus de Ocampo and Roland Tonquin as Ramos delivered lightning-quick swipes capped with a service ace that brought the game to a close in the third and final set, 25-23.
Ramos, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), and Depante both led UST with 11 markers apiece while Nestor Molate topped FEU also with 11 points.
UST’s John Paul Torres bagged three awards as he went home with the MVP plum, Best Scorer and Best Spiker citations, while teammate Paul Jan Doloiras was hailed Best Receiver in the men’s tournament.
In contrast with their male counterparts, the Lady Spikers failed to retain their UAAP crown after a heartbreaking loss to De La Salle University in an unexpected three-setter match, 18-25, 17-25, 28-26.
It was a tightly contested first canto for both squads as they had their first dealock at 10-all, but a series of La Salle errors aided UST to trail behind, 16-20. Maruja Banaticla tried to save the set with a solid hit through the block of Mikaela Esperanza but the Lady Archer countered the attack with a tip.
An early 5-0 run courtesy of Rhea Dimaculangan’s service aces gave the Lady Spikers a cushion in the opening of the second canto. However, La Salle’s Michelle Gumabao took the scoring cudgels for the Taft-based spikers on their way to grabbing the second frame, 17-25.
A feisty UST team was unyielding in the third set, banking on the quick attacks of Maika Ortiz. The Lady Spikers then tried to pull away with a 6-0 scoring binge sparked by Ortiz’s back-to-back service aces.
With five set points to their advantage, 24-19, UST could have claimed the third frame but La Salle was too hot to handle as they capitalized on the defensive lapses of the Lady Spikers to officially steal the title, 26-28.
Ortiz was contained to only nine markers to lead UST while Gumabao and Charleen Cruz had 14 points apiece.
Team captain Aiza Maizo emerged victorious prior to the match after bagging the Best Scorer and Best Receiver awards. Angelo Nonato P. Cabrera and Anne Marie Carmela Dayauon
