The University of the Philippines (UP) Men’s Volleyball Team (MVT) is yet to solve the winning puzzle after concluding the first round of eliminations in a five-set thriller against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 21-25, 26-28, 25-22, 27-25,13-15, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, March 15.
State U took the first advantage as the San Marcelino-based squad was still looking for its rhythm early in the first set, 7-1.
Amidst the early lead, Lance Flestado’s entry from the bench sparked Adamson’s momentum to push a 17-all deadlock.
Consecutive attack errors from Tommy Castrodes and Milven Francisco proved costly for the Fighting Maroons, giving the Falcons the opportunity to end the opening set at 21-25.
UP fought closely entering the second but eventually trailed once again after Joel Menor blocked team captain Olayemi Raheem, 10-13.
Raheem and Castrodes led a 5-0 run as they fired shots from both sides of the net and the Soaring Falcons committed consecutive errors to give the maroon shirts the lead, 23-22.
Despite delaying two set points, back-to-back attack errors from State U’s team captain were deemed crucial as it gave away the set to the Falcons, 26-28.
Combined efforts in the front row gave the Diliman-based squad a 3-0 run in the third set to regain the lead after Raheem’s service error.
Maroon opposite hitter Kobe Aca-ac’s block ended a long rally to extend UP’s lead to four, 15-11.
Despite committing 10 errors in the third salvo, Raheem’s late-game heroics propelled the Maroons to their first set win, 25-22.
Both sides went neck-and-neck early in the fourth, with the Fighting Maroons activating both wings to counter Flestado’s sharp kills before capitalizing on an Adamson error. Raheem and Abram Robles followed through with their attacks, forcing a decider, 27-25.
An error from the San-Marcelino side and a hit by Aca-ac gave UP a 7-6 lead, after a 4-0 run by the Falcons at the beginning of the fifth set.
But after a push-and-pull battle, State U fell under the wings of the Soaring Falcons after a rally-ending block on Aca-ac, 13-15.
The maroon shirts were plagued by errors and gave away a total of 29 points, as opposed to the Falcons’ 26.
Robles sees the close battle as a learning opportunity for the team as they enter the second round.
“Sobrang laki rin talaga no’ng pressure kasi both teams [ay] talagang gustong manalo,” Robles said in an interview with Tinig ng Plaridel. “So ‘yong pang-fifth set [ay] kinapos lang pero better naman ‘yong nangyari — magandang aral pa rin.”
Maroon standout Raheem remains on top of the scoring charts with 35 points from 33 attacks and two blocks, and was backed up by sophomore Castrodes with 17 points from 16 attacks and an ace.
On the other side of the court, Flestado led the Falcons with 28 points from 26 attacks, a block and an ace.
In search of the answer
Opening the season with a five-set victory against the University of the East Red Warriors, State U was left in shock after its defense suffered under its Katipunan rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
The maroon shirts immediately bounced back, ending a 10-year losing streak against the De La Salle University Green Spikers and pushing State U up in second spot, along with the National University (NU) Bulldogs and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Spikers.
Sliding down a slippery slope, the Fighting Maroons are still in search of their third win of the season, after dropping three straight-set matches against NU Bulldogs, Far Eastern University Tamaraws and UST Golden Spikers. This pushed them down to sixth place before the closing match of the first round.
“Kahit na top teams ‘yong kalaban namin, handa pa rin kaming sumugal at manalo. Kahit na kinakapos, at least [we] tried our [best],” middle blocker Robles said.
Closing the first round ranked seventh, the Diliman-based squad hopes to climb the ladder one step at a time as they enter the second round.
The Fighting Maroons are set to open the second round against the second-seed NU Bulldogs on Wednesday, March 18, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UP MVT ROUND 1 SET SCORES:
vs UE (3-2): 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-11
vs ADMU (1-3): 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 18-25
vs DLSU (3-1): 25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 25-22
vs NU (0-3): 26-28, 23-25, 20-25
vs FEU (0-3): 14-25, 22-25, 26-28
vs UST (0-3): 22-25, 18-25, 16-25
vs AdU (0-3): 21-25, 26-28, 25-22, 27-25,13-15
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