By: Justine Anne Gaerlan & Christian David Ruiz
UNIVERSITY of the East and defending champion National University-Nazareth School both secured victories, moving into a tie for second place in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Junior Warriors overcame the Adamson Baby Falcons, 25-13, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, to improve their record to 4-1.
Meanwhile, the Bullpups dominated the Ateneo Blue Eagles, winning 25-8, 25-13, 25-9, to also notch their fourth win in five matches.
With these victories, both UE and NUNS are keeping pace with league-leading University of Santo Tomas, which remains undefeated with a 4-0 record.
In UE’s match against Adamson, the fourth set began as a tightly contested affair, with both teams trading points until they reached a 10-all deadlock.
However, the Junior Warriors found their rhythm, going on a seven-point run to establish a commanding 17-10 lead.
Adamson made a late push, narrowing the gap to 23-19 thanks to a four-point surge led by back-to-back attacks from Brice Malinao. But a powerful attack from Lance Babon halted the Baby Falcons’ momentum, bringing UE to match point.
Clarence Gianan then delivered a decisive block to seal the victory.
“‘Yung first set kasi namin, ‘yan ‘yung nilalaro namin, pero pagdating ng second set nag-relax eh, tapos on their own. Kung ano ‘yung gusto nilang ipalo, ‘yun ‘yung pinapalo nila. Kaya nung nag-timeout ako, dun ko sila sinabihan na kung gusto nila ‘yung palo nila, ‘yun ang mangyayari so ayun ‘yung nangyari,” Junior Warriors head coach Herbert Dizon after the one-hour and 24-minute affair.
Dizon added that after the second set, he reminded the Junior Warriors to erase their previous mistakes, saying, “Pagdating nung second set, [sinabi] ko na erase lahat ‘yung nangyari nung first and second set. Tapos third set tuloy-tuloy na.”
After dropping their first match of the season, the Junior Warriors are now on a four-game winning streak.
Babon led the Junior Warriors’ offensive assault, registering 15 points from 13 kills and two service aces. Christian Antonio matched his performance with 15 points as well, all from attacks.
Setter Marcus Dulay directed the offense efficiently for UE, delivering 22 excellent sets to keep the team in rhythm.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Meanwhile, the Bullpups cruised past the Blue Eagles behind Matthew Abut’s 11 points, which included six kills, four aces, and a block.
“Medyo, I should say kulang kami sa middle blocker, so sinasanay ko yong iba, like si Yuan, na naging player of the game ngayon na gumitna, just in case, kasi meron kaming injured na mga nasa ano, sa middle blockers. So, nagaadjust kami pagdating sa ganong position, then hopefully maging condition sila sa second round,” said Bullpups head coach Edgar Barroga.
The Bullpups finished the match in 56 minutes through 33 attacks, six blocks, and nine service aces.
Yuan Mendoza contributed 10 points with eight attacks and two blocks to ensure the Bullpups’ dominant performance.
Jims Ducusin stood out anew in the loss, leading the Baby Falcons with 13 points.
With the defeat, the Baby Falcons dropped to 2-3, sliding to sixth place in the standings.
Ateneo’s struggles continued, as it remained winless with a 0-5 record, sitting at the bottom of the standings.
The Blue Eagles relied on their team captain, Ethan Rivera, who only scored seven points from 6 attacks and one service ace.
