UP meets bottom two finish in split UAAP season finale

The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons found themselves in the bottom two of the UAAP Season 86 Collegiate Volleyball Tournament after a bittersweet season-ender against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors on Saturday, April 27, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The men’s and women’s squads bowed out of the competition in seventh and eighth place, respectively.

One step ahead

The UP Men’s Volleyball Team (UP MVT) capped off their campaign with a hard-fought victory in a five-set thriller against the now bottom-ranked UE Red Spikers, 25-19, 18-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-9.

The Maroons concluded the elimination round with a 2-12 record to land one place higher than their Season 85 finish.

UE outperformed State U in blocks (6-17), but UP’s favorable outputs in the attacking (59-47), digging (33-29), and receiving (36-28) departments ultimately resulted in their second win of the season.

Louis Gamban set the starting momentum with two service aces as UP secured the first frame.

However, UP MVT’s strong composure waned as they encountered UE’s robust defense, resulting in an 8-16 deficit in the second set rally that later equalized the set scores.

The Warriors kept their fire alive until an Angelo Lagando finisher in the fourth frame brought the teams to a decider.

State U took a comfortable lead at match point, 14-6, before UE scored 3 consecutive points and Daniel Nicolas delivered the final blow to end the game.

Louis Gamban goes all out in an attack during her last UAAP season. Photo by Stephen Busico

Louis Gamban went all-out with a triple-double performance of 20 points, 11 excellent digs and 13 excellent receptions. 

Meanwhile, Angelo Lagando and Jaivee Malabanan contributed 15 and 11 markers, respectively.

“We’re very happy for where we are right now. We struggled all the way but I think the team has already improved a lot. Results are coming out, we’re very, very satisfied with what’s happening,” said returning UP MVT Head Coach VIP Isada during the post-game interview.

Flipping pages

On the other hand, the UP Women’s Volleyball Team (UP WVT) dropped their final match against the UE Lady Warriors in four sets, 25-23, 17-25, 25-27, 23-25.

The UP WVT ended the elimination round with a 1-13 card, taking their sole victory from UE in their first-round matchup.

Unfortunately, the Lady Maroons were unable to rewrite the same story despite outdueling  the Lady Warriors throughout the opening frame to take a 24-20 edge.

UE’s Casiey Dongallo tried to trim the lead with three consecutive points, but Irah Jaboneta took advantage of the gaping hole in UE’s defense to secure the set.

Two block points from Niña Ytang helped the Diliman-based squad maintain their momentum early in the second salvo before the Dongallo-led Warriors turned the tide to an 8-all deadlock.

With the Maroons trailing by 16-24, Steph Bustrillo delivered a much-needed attack, but Dongallo retaliated with one of her own to win the second set for UE.

UE once again reached set point first in the third frame, 23-24, before Ytang delivered a slide attack and a strong crosscourt hit off of an overpass to give the Maroons a ray of hope before falling to 2-1 in set scores.

State U struggled to find their rhythm in the fourth set while the Manila-based squad fiercely unloaded varied attacks to hand the Maroons a seven-game skid.

Jaboneta led State U’s efforts with 15 points from 13 attacks, one block and an ace. Meanwhile, Yesha Capistrano led the squad’s defensive front with 13 excellent digs and eight excellent receptions.

Ytang, who chalked in 13 points, was also named the second best blocker after the elimination round with 0.67 blocks per set.

The UP Fighting Maroons look to bounce back in UAAP Season 87 to be hosted by State U.