After a tough loss to the De La Salle University in their last outing, the National University Bulldogs exacted revenge against a different green-clad squad, trumping the College of Saint Benilde Blazers in four set, 25-16, 24-26, 25-11, 25-21, in the Spikers’ Turf Collegiate Conference elimination round at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
NU’s towering open hitter Bryan Bagunas and high-flying opposite Madz Gampong each unloaded 21 points on a combined 37 for 54 attacking.
The Bulldogs used their superior attacking and steady serving to keep the Blazers off balance. NU only faced turbulence in the second, watching their 21-17 lead dwindle due to their attack errors. The Bulldogs held set point at 24-22, but hits from Johnvic De Guzman brought Benilde to a deuce and eventually to a 25-24 advantage. A block from guest player Pemi Bagalay gave the Blazers the set.
From there, NU took control of the match. Torching the Blazers in the third set, the Sampaloc-based spikers used a 5-0 run to seal the fourth set, 24-19, and the match.
“Ganoon pa naman talaga ang team ngayon, nakakapante kapag pakiramdam nakakalamang na. Siguro problema na din ‘yung conditioning ng team pero maganda pa rin naman ang pinakita namin noong dulo,” said NU head coach Dante Alinsunurin, who had been without starting middle blocker Francis Saura as she was attending to personal matters.
High-scoring Benilde opposite Johnvic De Guzman topped all scorers with 23 points, but was the only Blazer in double digits.
NU (3-1) face the NCAA champions University of Perpetual Help System Dalta-Altas (4-0) on Saturday, August 27, at 12:00nn, while CSB (0-4) shoot for their first win against the Philippine Merchant Marine School Mariners (0-4) on Monday, August 29, at 10:00am. The former will be played at the Filoil Flying V Centre, while the Blazers-Mariners tilt will be played at the PhilSports Arena.
The Scores
NU (3) – Bagunas 21, Gampong 21, Ismail 11, Malabunga 10, Baysac 7, Dayandante 5, Ancheta 0, Natividad 0, Sumagui (L), Marcos (L)
CSB (1) – De Guzman 23, Jordan 8, Montano 8, Basilan 6, Bagalay 4, Bautista 1, Orian 1, Bacani 0, Deximo 0, Magsino 0, Dy (L)
