The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons had contrasting fortunes in their second round encounter against the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Wednesday, April 8, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Women’s Volleyball Team (WVT) earned a convincing win to improve to a 5-6 slate and keep their Final Four hopes alive, while the Men’s Volleyball Team (MVT) dropped a hard-fought match to fall to a 3-8 win-loss record.
Hopes still UP
The UP WVT continues to live up to its “laban lang” mentality as it keeps its Final Four hopes alive after a straight-set victory against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 25-20, 25-14, 25-23.
“‘Yon talaga ‘yong dapat lagi namin isipin, ipanalo ‘yong every game namin starting today and in the future. At the same time rin i-enjoy ‘yong every laro namin since this is our last year [in UAAP],” Niña Ytang said in the post-game press conference.
State U found its footing early as the league’s three-time second best middle blocker began the match with two consecutive attack points.
Sophomore middle blocker Bienne Bansil and spiker Jelai Gajero led UP’s block party at the net, combining for six blocks in the opening set alone.
After multiple scoring runs, the Fighting Maroons were tested in closing out the first set, as the Blue Eagles saved six set points before Bansil ended Ateneo’s late surge, 25-20.
State U capitalized on the blue jerseys’ miscues, while the hot-handed Bansil-Gajero frontline neutralized Ateneo’s rookie standout Ana Hermosura at the net. This helped the maroon volleybelles build an early 14-7 lead in the second.
Following a 5-1 run toward the end of the set, Gajero delivered the final point that pinned Ateneo at 13 points.
Up two sets to none, State U slowed down in the final set as the Blue Eagles threatened early with back-to-back points, 4-6.
The scoring became a seesaw battle, but experience proved crucial as Ytang rallied the Fighting Maroons to a straight-set victory, scoring eight points in the third set alone — including the last three of a 4-0 run in the closing stretch to keep their Final Four hopes alive, 25-23.
Ytang brought the spark for the maroons with 18 points off 13 attacks, three blocks and two aces, while Irah Jaboneta chipped in 12 points off 11 attacks and a block.
The Diliman-based squad’s blocking fortified its grip on the match, as it tallied a total of 16 blocks in a three-set outing, led by Gajero’s seven, Bansil’s five, Ytang’s three and another one from Jaboneta.
Dona De Leon and Zey Pacia contributed seven points apiece for the blue side.
Late game meltdown
The UP MVT controlled long stretches of a five-set battle but could not close it out, surrendering the latter sets to the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 7-15.
Tommy Castrodes set the tone early with a drop ball before team captain Olayemi Raheem took over with a series of attacks, powering the Fighting Maroons to a five-point cushion at 13-8.
However, Amil Pacinio and Miguel Yu spearheaded a 10-2 surge for Ateneo to flip an 18-all deadlock in their favor at 20-23, sending the Maroons scrambling late before ultimately conceding the set.
Despite falling into a 0-3 hole at the beginning of the second, setter Clarence Santiago came off the bench, opening scoring opportunities for Raheem and Angelo Lipata to fuel a 7-3 run to put them ahead by three points, 17-14.
The Blue Eagles played catch up by cutting the three-point deficit to one, but State U fended off Ateneo’s late push as Raheem delivered a backrow kill to complete the comeback, 25-22.
Momentum was carried into the third set as maroon middle blockers Milven Francisco and Abram Robles re-established the offense at the net with quick attacks, allowing State U to regain control after early exchanges, 11-9.
Ateneo then mounted a late rally to take a 22-23 lead, but the Fighting Maroons responded with a run of their own built on Raheem’s attack point, a block from playmaker Santiago and a finishing spike off the blockers’ hands by Lipata to seal the turnaround, 25-23.
The Maroons struggled to sustain their rhythm in the fourth, tallying only eight attack points, a block and an ace, with the remaining eight points coming off Ateneo’s errors, as they eventually dropped what could have been the match-sealing set at 18-25.
The Diliman side was immediately put on the back foot in the deciding set as Ateneo quickly exposed gaps in their defense, forcing a 2-8 deficit.
Raheem and Castrodes attempted to spark a comeback with crosscourt and off-the-block hits, but the deficit proved insurmountable for the Maroons, ultimately falling short.
League-leading scorer Raheem paced the maroon shirts with 28 points off 27 attacks and a block, while Castrodes followed with 15 markers.
On the other side of Katipunan, Pacinio and Aimar Okeke led the blue jerseys’ offense with 25 and 16 points, respectively.
Both squads look forward to securing a win against the FEU Tamaraws and boosting their Final Four hopes on Sunday, April 12, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion.
