By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University-Diliman secured their UAAP Season 89 High School Boys’ Volleyball Final Four spots dispatching University of the Philippines Integrated School and De La Salle Zobel, respectively, in straight sets on Friday at the Paco Arena Events and Sports Center in Manila.
The Junior Golden Spikers returned to the win column in dominant fashion, sweeping the Junior Fighting Maroons, 25-14, 25-14, 25-13, to improve to 10-1 and remain tied for first place.
The Baby Tamaraws likewise kept their share of the top spot, notching their fourth consecutive victory with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-15 sweep of the Junior Green Spikers.
National University-Nazareth School also continued to build momentum, outlasting Adamson University, 25-18, 30-32, 25-14, 25-21, for its third straight win and a share of third place.
Defending champion University of the East, meanwhile, made quick work of Ateneo, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19, to strengthen its bid for a Final Four berth.
The Bullpups and Junior Warriors are tied at 7-4, two games ahead of the fifth-running Baby Falcons (5-6), with two Final Four spots still up for grabs.
UST began pulling away from UPIS at 11-7, capitalizing on the Junior Fighting Maroons’ errors to string together five unanswered points. The Junior Golden Spikers continued to widen the gap through successive scoring runs before Kirby Aguas’ kill brought them to match point. Justin Jusayan briefly extended UPIS’ resistance, but Aguas answered with another kill to seal the victory.
“Syempre, we’re very glad na [nag-improve] consistency nung pagpasok namin sa Final Four. Pero syempre, lahat naman ng teams may ini-aim na talagang mangyari [at] malaking improvement kasi ‘yung mga recruit na pinasok namin nakuha na ‘yung sistema, nakuha na nila kung ano ‘yung mga gusto naming mangyari. So malaking factor ‘yan kaya mas maganda yung ginagalaw namin ngayon unlike last year,” said UST head coach Clarence Esteban.
“Pero syempre, hindi pa naman doon natatapos. Meron pa rin kasunod na laro na kailangan pa naming pagpursigihan. Pero sinasabi ko nga sa kanila na ano lang, one step at a time. Wala munang hype na Final Four. Tapusin muna naming eliminations saka kami tumingin doon sa Final Four,” he added.
UST showcased its balanced offense, with five players scoring at least six points. Jireh Torotoro led the way with 10 points on nine attacks and a block in the 52-minute match. Karl Escobal added eight, while Bernard Capuno, Markus Julian, and Aguas chipped in six apiece.
Jefferson Abalos orchestrated the Junior Golden Spikers’ offense with 10 excellent sets, while Miguel Panganiban added eight.
Prince Jimenez and Jusayan paced UPIS with nine points apiece, all from attacks, but their efforts were not enough to prevent the Junior Fighting Maroons from dropping to 3-8. UPIS remains sixth in the standings and has officially been eliminated from Final Four contention.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
In FEU-D’s victory, the Baby Tamaraws broke the set open with a five-point run, highlighted by consecutive kills from Kenneth Maliwanag that turned a 13-9 lead into an 18-9 advantage. Successive errors by DLSZ further widened the gap before FEU-D closed out the match with three straight points, capped by Neoh Fallorina’s ace following attacks from Fallorina and One Gimeno.
“Unang-una nagpapasalamat kami kay Lord kasi actually, inalay namin sa kanya ‘tong mga games na ‘to… now with the whole team, sabi ko, napakaraming blessings ang binibigay sa’tin ba’t hindi natin bibigay din sa kanya yung match,” said FEU-D head coach Rene Dulay. “Now, mas, mas thorough kami, mas blessed kami kasi we’ve learned our lesson last year. ‘Yung we’re almost there nang twice-to-beat [last season] biglang napunta kami sa third, diba?
“So again, we’ve learned our lesson. Sana hindi na maulit yun despite of the things [and] maraming struggles kagaya niyan, may mga injury yung mga bata. Studies niyan ngayon, ongoing examination nila pero nevertheless, we’ll try our best. Pero ang aming mindset right now is to finish the second round nang maganda yung record. Now if we will be on top, thank you. Kung di kami maging on top at least we did our best kung ano magiging standing namin doon,” he added.
Maliwanag continued to lead the way for the Baby Tamaraws, finishing with 15 points on 12 attacks and three blocks. Tyler Ramos contributed 13 points on 11 attacks and two blocks in the 58-minute match.
Karch Carolino facilitated FEU-D’s offense with 14 excellent sets, while Samuel Coronel anchored its floor defense with 25 excellent receptions.
Brett Urriquia and Andrei Montillano led DLSZ with nine points apiece. The Junior Green Spikers, however, fell to 2-9 and remained seventh, officially ending their Final Four hopes.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
Meanwhile, NUNS took control of its match against Adamson after breaking a 12-all deadlock with a four-point run sparked by two attacks from Nathaniel Carag. The Bullpups gradually extended their advantage, with Allen Almodovar delivering the attack that brought them to match point. Johnlee Macam briefly kept the Baby Falcons alive, but Carag responded with the match-clinching hit.
The Bullpups displayed their offensive depth, with four players reaching double-digit scoring.
Al-Raquib Dais led the way with 16 points on 13 attacks, two blocks, and an ace in the hour-and-38-minute match. Ronnie Millan added 14 points, while Almodovar and Kiel Biscocho contributed 13 and 12, respectively.
For Adamson, Lance Babon finished with 23 points on 22 attacks and a block, while James Bernabe tallied 21 points, all from attacks. The loss kept the Baby Falcons in fifth place at 5-6.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
In UE’s victory, Nathan Evangelista led the Junior Warriors with 10 points on six attacks, three aces, and a block in the 56-minute match. Steven David backed him up with nine points on six attacks and three aces.
Mharl Dullete and Khian Gorospe shared playmaking duties, recording eight excellent sets apiece.
Antonio Avendano paced Ateneo with nine points, all from attacks, as the Blue Eagles remained winless after 11 games.
