UST rebounds after stunner, shares lead with NUNS

c/o UAAP

UAAP Season 87 HS Boys' Volleyball Standings

UST 8-1

NUNS 8-1

UE 7-2

AdU 5-4

FEU-D 4-5

DLSZ 3-6

Ateneo 1-8

UPIS 0-9

Girls' Games Sunday at the Paco Arena

11 a.m. – Ateneo vs FEU-D

1 p.m. – DLSZ vs UST

3 p.m. – UPIS vs AdU

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas quickly shook off their first setback of the season with a resounding four-set victory over Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, 25-11, 23-25, 25-17, 25-17 in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Volleyball Tournament on Saturday at the Paco Arena in Manila.

The Junior Golden Spikers absorbed a 23-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 11-15 defeat against the University of the East Junior Warriors last Wednesday, snapping its seven-match streak.

Reigning champion National University Nazareth School, on the other hand, needed 56 minutes as they cruised to their sixth straight win after taking down the Junior Green Spikers, 25-11, 25-13, 25-16 later in the day to gain the share of the lead.

Both squads are now carrying 8-1 win-loss records.

“Syempre mabigat ‘yung pagkatalo namin noon kasi nawala ‘yung winning streak namin pero as [pag]-motivate ko sa mga bata, at least na talo na tayo sa umpisa. Naramdaman natin kung ano ‘yung sakit na naramdaman natin sa pagkatalo natin,” said UST head coach Clarence Esteban, emphasizing how their loss against UE helped them prepare better for this match.

“Sinabi ko lang na regroup lang ulit, balik tayo sa basic, balik tayo sa plano, ‘yun lang ang sinabi ko.”

UST took control early in the fourth frame, racing to a 16-9 lead to push them within striking distance of victory at match point. Though Gian Panes briefly kept the FEU-Dalive with an attack, Paolo Medino closed the match with a kill for a bounce-back win for the Junior Golden Spikers.

Sean Cruz proved his impact on both offense and defense for the event hosts, putting up 17 points on 12 attacks and five blocks in the contest that lasted for an hour and 24 minutes. John Paul Bautista and Medino also made significant contributions, adding 13 and 12 points, respectively.

On the other side, Kenneth Maliwanag was the standout for the Baby Tamaraws, finishing with 14 points, including 13 from attacks, in their hard-fought defeat.

The Baby Tamaraws fell to 4-5, a game behind the Baby Falcons.

Miguel Egger emerged as the top scorer for the defending champions with 12 points including nine attacks and an ace. Xandrex Ragusta and Matthew Abut provided solid support with nine points and seven points, respectively.

Later that day, University of the East continued its winning momentum by overpowering Ateneo De Manila University in four sets, 25-10, 20-25, 25-12, 25-12, to remain at 7-2 and in solo third place.

UE regrouped after their stunning, second-set defeat, carrying their momentum into the fourth set where they came out blazing and quickly built a 10-point lead at 18-8.

As the Junior Warriors tightened their grip on the match, they scored the final four points with a combination of attacks from Gian Flestado, Aaron Ancheta, and Kenzie Caro. Caro eventually secured back-to-back wins for UE with a finishing kill.

Lance Babon dominated with 14 points on 10 attacks and three aces in the match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes. Christian Antonio matched his output, also delivering 14 points, including nine attacks, one block, and seven digs.

Adamson University capped off the day’s action with a sweep of University of the Philippines Integrated School 25-9, 25-12, 25-12, to keep its position in solo fourth with a 5-4 win-loss card.

Jims Ducusin led the Baby Falcons’ charge in the 48-minute match with 11 points all from nine attacks and two blocks. In two sets of play. Kirk Partosa followed with seven markers from five kills and two aces.

The Blue Eagles dropped to 1-8 to keep seventh place, while UPIS fell to 0-9.