Defending NCAA champions University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas battled toe-to-toe before dominating last year’s title rivals Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15, Tuesday morning at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
It was the Generals who took command of the start of the first two sets as errors, mostly from the service line, hounded the Altas.
Team captain Manuel Doliente admitted that they played too relax in the opening sets, leading to uncharacteristic errors.
“Yung EAC in-underestimate namin, na maraming grumaduate sa kanila,” he said.
Nonetheless, Perpetual tightened up their defense and connected in transition to take the initiative in the tail end of those frames and never looked back.
The reigning champs then used this momentum and slowly built up sizable leads in the third to finish the Generals in straight sets.
Doliente shared that the team aims to sweep their remaining games to get a shot at clinching the top spot.
“Yung aim po namin sa panalo namin ngayon, every time may laban kami, i-straight sets namin. Iniisip namin, pag may game kami, magfocus kami. Kasi may talo na kaming isa, kailangang manalo kami lahat,” he said.
Rey Taneo Jr. padded the stat sheets from both ends, producing nine attacks, four blocks, 11 digs, and seven excellent receptions. His brother Relan aided 30 of the 38 attacks of the Altas.
Converted spiker Karlo Gorospe and Joshua Miña rallied the Generals with seven points apiece.
The Altas (2-1) take on the struggling but dangerous Mapua Cardinals (2-2) on Monday, December 5. On the other hand, the Generals (0-4) still look for their first win when they face the San Sebastian Golden Stags (1-2) the next day.
The Scores:
UPHSD (3) – Taneo Jr. 14, Kasim 13, Doliente 8, Sala-an 5, R. Taneo 4, Ramos 4, Narvasa 2, Rosales 0, Atentar 0, Kalingking L.
EAC (0) – Gorospe 7, Miña 7, Lim 4, Rasing 4, Cilocilo 4, Castellano 3, Garcia 0, Guinto 0, Lumbad L,
