By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
UNIVERSITY of the East dominated Ateneo de Manila University in a swift 58-minute match, cruising to a 25-17, 25-19, 25-13 victory on Sunday in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Volleyball Tournament at Paco Arena, Manila.
With the win, the Junior Warriors improved to 5-1, tying the NUNS Bullpups in second place ahead of their highly anticipated clash next Saturday at the same venue.
The victory marked UE’s fifth consecutive win, further boosting their momentum as they prepare for a showdown against last season’s champions.
Despite the strong run, first-year head coach Herbert Dizon admitted feeling some nerves ahead of the upcoming match.
“Kahit papano medyo nakakakaba pero rest assured naman na paghahandaan namin itong upcoming game namin with NU,” said Dizon, who was not part of the team when UE narrowly lost to NUNS in the previous season’s finals.
Sunday’s game against Ateneo served as a solid warm-up for the Junior Warriors, who displayed their depth and firepower.
Every UE spiker who stepped on the court managed to score, with open hitter Christian Antonio leading the charge with 10 points, all from attacks.
Supporting him were Lance Rafallo, Juan Martinez, and King Laudit, each contributing five points.
Setter Roc Martinez orchestrated the offense efficiently, while libero Justine Lopez anchored the defense.
“Okay naman ‘yung [performance ng] team at ‘yung mga second stringers namin kahit papano nagamit namin ngayon,” Dizon added.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In the earlier game, Adamson University snapped a three-game losing streak by sweeping Far Eastern University-Diliman, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19, improving to 3-3 and remaining at solo fourth place in the standings.
Baby Falcons head coach Marvin Ramoso acknowledged that errors, particularly in serving and receiving, had plagued his team in their previous matches.
“‘Yung error talaga ang nagpapatalo sa team. ‘Yung service error, service receive ‘yung pinakamahirap na ayusin, tsaka ‘yung mental toughness ng mga bata,” Ramoso explained.
“Sinabi ko lang naman sa mga bata na kahit anong mangyari manalo o matalo tayo kailangan ’yung goal natin dire-diretso pa rin kasi mahaba pa naman ang season.”
Adamson took control late in the third set, holding a 23-17 lead before a service error from FEU-D brought them to match point.
Although the Baby Tamaraws fought back with a strong hit from Kenneth Maliwanag and a service error from Adamson’s Clark Dingle, a costly service mistake from Tyler Ramos ultimately handed Adamson the win.
Jims Ducusin starred for the Baby Falcons with 21 points, delivering 17 kills, three blocks, and an ace.
Neil Tobias provided valuable support, adding nine points on eight attacks and an ace.
Benedict Castillo was a force at the net, contributing eight points, including six blocks, while Dingle ran the offense with 12 excellent sets.
For FEU-D, Maliwanag led the way with 11 points as their two-game winning streak came to an end.
The Baby Tamaraws now share fifth place with idle DLSZ Junior Spikers.
Despite the loss, Ateneo found a silver lining in Ethan Rivera’s performance, as he tallied 10 points in the Blue Eagles’ sixth straight defeat.
