San Beda College Red Spikers came back from a 0-2 lag to stun the reigning champions University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Altas in five tight sets, 18-25, 27-29, 25-23, 29-27, and 15-10 to post their second straight win in the NCAA Season 92 Men’s Volleyball Sunday evening at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Adrian Viray led San Beda with 18 points all from attacks. Mark Santos had 15, while Alfie Mascariñas chipped in 12 markers in tonight’s win. Setter John Desuyo produced 45 excellent sets along with six points.
The Perps had the upper hand in the first set as they coasted to a 20-13 lead after a Rey Taneo hit approaching the frame’s latter part. However, they went a step slow due to errors, allowing SBC to rake in a few points to avoid a blowout, 22-17. SBC tried to spark a run, but could not pull such as they committed a set of attack errors that helped propel Perpetual to a 1-0 set lead, 25-18.
Both teams went back and forth in the next frame, which saw several deuces in the set’s closing sequences. The Altas were up 23-20, but San Beda forced a tie at 24-all after a quick hit. From there, three more deuces followed until the 27-all lock. The Red Lions’ serve went too wide, then Perpetual scored off a check ball by Esmail Kasim to finally seal the set in favor of the Altas, 29-27.
Similar to the previous set, both the Altas and the Red Spikers engaged in another tight affair in the third set, sending the frame to an 18-all tie late. From that point on, San Beda went full blast, taking control of the set’s pace approaching the final moments to outscore their Las Piñas-based opponents 7-5 capped by a Yeshua Manliclic quicker to come out victorious, 25-23.
Another set of deuces took place in the pivotal fourth set. San Beda were owning a 23-20 lead late, but their errors helped the Perps run back and force a deuce at 24-all. Both teams then exchanged attacks, and similar to Set 2, it went to a 27-all tie. The Altas made efforts to punch in points, but they inadvertently made two straight attack errors that sent the match to a decider, 29-27.
As expected, a tight battle ensued in the fifth and last set of the match, with numerous deadlocks taking place. But from the 10-all knot that the Altas forced after being down 10-8, they could not provide any more runs, as the Bedans pulled five straight points highlighted by service aces from Desuyo to eke out the five-point victory, 15-10.
“Nung first two sets, medyo nagkakainitan pa sa loob eh,” said San Beda head coach Jose Roque postgame regarding the team’s 0-2 start. “Siyempre kailangan mo i-encourage at i-uplift yung team mo kasi magtutuloy-tuloy eh.”
The Red Spikers, according to Roque, wanted to win this match for them to exact revenge to the defending champions, who defeated them last Season 91 also in five sets.
“Katulad nga ng sabi ko sa kanila, gusto sana namin bumawi ngayong year. Kasi last year natalo rin kami rito eh, five sets din. Sabi ko, ito na yung pagkakataon,” explained Roque.
Taneo led the Perps with 18 points off 12 kills, four blocks, and two aces in the loss, which sends them to a 1-1 slate.
SBC looks to post their third straight win against Lyceum Pirates next Monday, November 28, at 1PM, while UPHSD will try to bounce back against EAC Generals next Tuesday, November 29, at 10AM.
The Scores:
SBC (3) – Viray 18, Santos 15, Mascarinas 12, Manliclic 7, Enciso 7, Gonzales 7, Desuyo 6, Patenio 5, Zabala 1, Genobaten 0, Gonzales 0, Casin L, Nicandro L.
UPHSD (2) – Taneo Jr. 18, Kasim 14, Doliente 9, Sala-an 7, Taneo R. 6, Ramos 6, Narvasa 2, Atentar 1, Rosales 2, Kalingking L.
