Second round in UAAP collegiate volleyball set to commence with postseason positioning

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Volleyball Standings

Women
NU 7 0
UST 5 2
DLSU 5 2
FEU 4 3
UP 3 4
AdU 2 5
Ateneo 2 5
UE 0 7

Men
FEU 7 0
NU 6 1
UST 4 3
Ateneo 4 3
DLSU 4 3
UP 2 5
AdU 1 6
UE 0 7

Games Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena

10 a.m. – AdU vs UE (Men)
12 noon – UP vs Ateneo (Men)
2 p.m. – AdU vs UE (Women)
4 p.m. – UP vs Ateneo (Women)

UNIVERSITY of the Philippines, one game out of the No. 4 spot, plays Ateneo as it seeks to open its second round campaign on a high note today (Saturday) in the UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Fighting Maroons hope to avenge their 18-25, 22-25, 18-25 defeat to the Blue Eagles that started a four-game slide after an impressive 2-0 start at 4 p.m.

With a 3-4 card, UP is not far behind fourth-running Far Eastern University (4-3) in the race for the last Final Four berth.

Still on track for the Fighting Maroons' first Final Four appearance since 2016, first-year coach Benson Bocboc is looking at the present.

"I think yung, sa nakikita ko, ang may value lang dito yung ngayon. Yung talo is not connected kasi medyo loose kami, so hindi pa kami naka-organize lahat eh. So ngayon pa-konti konti and I think this one is the start. So, tingin ko ito magsisimula, going to the second round, then I think mapapakita ng team kung ano yung kaya nilang ilabas talaga," said Bocboc after UP outlasted Adamson University in five sets to close out the first round.

("I think, from what I see, the only thing that holds value here is the present. The loss isn’t really connected because we were a bit loose, so we weren’t fully organized yet. But now, little by little, I think this is the start. I believe this will be the beginning, leading into the second round, and I think the team will be able to show what they’re truly capable of.")

The Fighting Maroons have been in the thick of things, thanks to veterans Joan Monares, Niña Ytang, and Irah Jaboneta, who took over in the deciding set to beat Shai Nitura and the rest of the Lady Falcons last Sunday.

For the second straight season, Ateneo finished the first round with a 2-5 record and will fave to play catch up again to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2022.

The Blue Eagles are bracing for more "hard moments" in the second round as they lost key spikers JLo delos Santos, Zel Tsunashima, and Sobe Buena to injuries, leaving seniors AC Miner and Lyann de Guzman to carry the fight.

For Brazilian coach Sergio Veloso, every set and point is very precious from now on for Ateneo, which is two games out of the No. 4 spot.

"Now you have two victories but we have six points, and this, so near, for the other positions. We need to fight for the second round to get more points. When you win, 3-1, 3-0, you get three points. Okay? Sometimes, each set, one point, two points, it’s so important," said Veloso.

"Because if you have any similar points at the end of the round, you can go for the top four or not… You fight all the time. When you think everybody all teams can jump for the next round. We fight all the time to get those positions," he added.

University of the East hopes to make up for a winless first round starting against Adamson at 2 p.m.

The Lady Warriors had endured a couple of heartbreaking five-set defeats and had two competitive four-set losses as they tried to carry on a decimated roster following the departure of several players from last season's line-up.

UE coach Allan Mendoza Jr. vowed for a better second round behind the team's new leading scorer Van Bangayan, top blocker Riza Nogales, and ace libero Ange Reyes, as Khy Cepada hopes to get out from a slump.

"Maganda naman pinapakita ng players, pero kinakapos sa endgame. Yung mindset talaga namin kasi is hindi ganoon ka-prepared because of sa nangyari sa team at sa mga nawala at nangyari sa team. Though sabi ko nga sa kanila, hindi natin puwede gawin reason 'yon kasi nandito na tayo, kaya we need to give the best output na mapapakita natin, especially heading into Round 2," said Mendoza.

("The players are showing good performances, but we fall short in the endgame. Our mindset isn’t fully prepared because of what happened to the team and the players we lost. But as I told them, we can’t use that as an excuse because we’re already here, so we need to give our best performance, especially as we head into Round 2.")

For the Lady Falcons, who are tied with the Blue Eagles, it's all about other players stepping up and not being overreliant to Nitura, who logged a new league scoring record of 38 points in last Sunday's five-set loss to the Fighting Maroons.

In the men's division, Ateneo, locked in a three-way tie with University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle from third to fifth spots at 4-3 takes on UP at 12 noon.

Adamson and UE hope to begin their second round campaigns on a winning note at 10 a.m.

As the season has reached the midpoint, rookie coach Vince Mangulabnan wanted his Blue Eagles to totally embrace the system he has implemented.

"Sabi ko nga sa kanila nung mga meetings namin, kailangan pa namin aralin yung bawat fundamentals namin. Aaralin din namin kada game namin throughout the first round heading into the second round," said Mangulabnan.

("I told them during our meetings that we still need to study and refine our fundamentals. We will also analyze each game throughout the first round as we head into the second round.")

"Kailangan pa namin maglevel up nang maglevel up sa progress at sa system na linalaro namin para mas gumanda pa standing namin and to enter the Final Four," he added.

("We need to keep leveling up in terms of progress and the system we’re playing so we can improve our standings and secure a spot in the Final Four.")

Under first-year coach Carlo Cabatingan, the Fighting Maroons went 2-5 in the first round and are looking forward to a better second half of the season.

"In terms of improvement, I think the five-game losing streak is our step towards learning. We took each game as a learning experience for us. Adjustments were made every game until we found the right timing and tempo to play this well. Hopefully, we'll gain all learnings from a 2-5 standing in the first round to a strong second round performance," said Cabatingan.