The UST Golden Spikers bid their V-League championship hopes farewell as the DLSU Green Spikers clinched a finals spot at their expense, 25-23, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 15-11, in Game 3 of the semifinals at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Although the defeat ended their finals hopes, the Golden Spikers still have a chance at a podium finish if they overcome the NU Bulldogs in the bronze-medal match on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the same venue.
Julian Macam paced UST in the loss with 17 points on 13 attacks, while Paul Colinares and Gboy de Vega added 15 and 14 markers, respectively.
Al-Bukharie Sali contributed 10 points but committed a crucial service error in the decider that cost UST the game.
With the fifth set tied at 7-all, DLSU went on a 7-3 blast to reach match point. Colinares briefly halted the DLSU momentum with a block kill, but Sali’s service sailed out, giving the Green Spikers the win.
“‘Yong nangyari sa fifth set, talagang lapses na lang namin ‘yon,” UST assistant coach Benjamin Mape said.
“Mas naging composed ang La Salle,” he added. “Back to zero kami. We have to work on our system and follow that system.”
After losing the first two sets due to a series of errors, the Golden Spikers found their rhythm in the third, closing with a 15-9 run, capped by two Colinares blocks to avoid a sweep, 25-23.
In the fourth set, UST rallied with four consecutive attacks to overturn a 20-22 deficit and win the set 25-23, forcing a decider.
Glen Ventura led DLSU with 17 points, followed by Chris Fernandez with 15. Joshua Magalaman contributed 13 points, while Uriel Mendoza added nine. Rob Andrew L. Dongiapon
