Antonio’s 30 not enough: Green Spikers bows to Tamaraws

The Green-and-White squad was hopeful that Myco Antonio’s successful attack would pull the team an inch closer to a win, 14-13.

The squad, however, failed to push through as the team lost, 25-22, 19-25, 21-25, 28-26, 15-13,at the hands of the defending champion, the FEU Tamaraws last January 20 at the FilOil Flying V Arena. DLSU now holds a 4-4 card in the standings, good for fourth place.

Antonio notched a game-high of 30 points and tallied five blocks for La Salle while veterans Red Christensen and Philip Cerveza finished the match with a combined stat line of 19 points and five blocks.

DLSU Head Coach Sam Acaylar explained, “It’s a nice game. Although we’ve lost in five sets, it is the breaks of the game.”

Karl Dela Calzada top scored for the Tamaraws with 23 points while Team Captain Paulo De Ocampo added 12 markers.

An inch away from victory

After successfully digging out of a 1-2 set deficit, the Green Spikers forced the Tamaraws into a deciding fifth set. DLSU, however, fell short due to a few mishaps.

The Taft-based squad failed to gain momentum in the pivotal fifth set as the Morayta-based squad established a 9-5 lead courtesy of La Salle’s errors. Dela Calzada made timely attacks, which eventually prompted coach Acaylar to call a timeout.

La Salle then turned the tables around as the duo of Cerveza and rookie Raymark Woo ignited a 8-5 scoring spurt, which was later capped off with a thunderous spikeby Antonio to cut the lead, 13-14.

Antonio’s block attempt, however, went outside, which gave the win for the Tamaraws. Coach Acaylar later on praise his players for their hard work and competitive nature.

“They have the heart [in playing the games]. During the start of the first round, and now in the second round, they have the heart. They also have the fighting spirit,” he added.

A rookie’s revelation

One thing that took the game by surprise was the sudden emergence of rookie Raymark Woo. The rookie scored eight points including four services aces against a more experienced FEU squad.

Aside from filling up the stat sheets, Woo impressively displayed composure as he made sharp serves and timely attacks, which powered his team to win a crucial fourth set, 28-26.

“I was surprised kasi ‘yung sa rookie [Woo] naman puno ng potential iyon. Siyempre hindi natin maiiwasan dahil baguhan lang siya pero pinakitana niya ‘yung galing niya,” Acaylar added.

Picking up pieces

The Green Spikers will look to get a win as the team makes a bid against the UP Figthing Maroons this coming Wednesday 8 am at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

“We are doing a lot of practice. We are doing a lot of maintenance for them and preparations for this second round,” coach Acaylar ended.