The DLSU Green Spikers were outlasted by the NU Bulldogs in a thrilling five-set match, 25-23, 19-25, 25-15, 20-25, 16-14, earlier at the FilOil Flying V Centre. The result gives them a 4-7 win-loss record.
Bryan Bagunas spearheaded the Bulldogs after scoring 21 points on 18 attacks and three service aces. He was followed by Fauzi Ismail and James Natividad, with 18 and 15 points, respectively. On the other side of the court, Arjay Onia gave La Salle 14 points on 12 attacks and two aces. Meanwhile, Cris Dumago chipped in 10 points on seven attacks and three aces.
The match started out closely in the first set. With the score at 6-5, NU made a 7-1 scoring run to give earn a five-point advantage, 12-7. To answer back, La Salle made a 3-0 run that started with a combination play from Joshua Jose and Geraint Bacon to stay within striking distance. The set continued with the Green Spikers trailing behind the Bulldogs. An attack from Bagunas closed the set at 25-23, in favor of NU.
In the second set, the Green Spikers immediately took the lead with 7-3 run as errors haunted the Bulldogs, followed by three straight points on Onia’s aces and Delos Reyes’ block to put the score at 10-3, in favor of La Salle. The Bulldogs tried to trim the lead as the set proceeded on. At 19-13, the Bulldogs scored four points, three of which were from Ismail’s aces, 19-17. DLSU eventually went on a 6-2 run to take the set at 25-19.
Similar to the first set, the two teams engaged in a tight match to open the third set. At 5-4, however, NU scored nine unanswered points to take the lead at 13-5. The Lasallians sought to make a comeback, but NU kept them at bay as they stepped up their offense which prevented DLSU from scoring more than three consecutive points. The Bulldogs eventually took the set at 25-15.
The fourth set saw the Bulldogs score eight consecutive points right after a service error on their part to take a comfortable 8-1 lead. La Salle, however made multiple runs after capitalizing on NU’s errors and scoring from blocks. This paved the way for the Green-and-White to take a five-point lead with a 15-10 scoreline. DLSU slowly built upon its lead with attacks to extend its lead to double figures, 23-13. In an attempt to close the gap, the Bulldogs scored six successive points led by two service aces from Bagunas. However, DLSU held off NU with a few more rallies to take the set, 25-20, and extend the game.
The Green Spikers opened the fifth and final set with four unanswered points to take the lead. However, the Bulldogs answered with four consecutive points of their own, two of which came from Natividad to level the score. Two consecutive points for La Salle followed, which was answered by the Bulldogs with four points of their own, to put the score at 8-6, in favor of NU. However, DLSU made a 4-1 run to retake the lead at 10-9. The set continued on in the same fashion as both teams relentlessly fought for the advantage. NU finally took the set, 16-14, and sealed the match with an attack from Bagunas.
Despite the loss, Green Spikers head coach Nes Pamilar expressed his satisfaction on the performance of his team. “Performance, good. Na-execute lahat. Game plan, na-execute lahat. Kung anong inensayo, nagawa naman namin,” he explained. “Maganda ang service, tsaka organized yung blocking. Nagawa lahat yun.” ([Our] performance was good and we executed our game plan. What was shown in practice was reflected [in the game]. Our services were good and our blocking was organized. Those were all done.)
The Bulldogs outperformed the Green Spikers in the attacking and blocking departments as they made 51 attacks and nine blocks against La Salle’s 36 attacks and four blocks. Meanwhile, DLSU scored more service aces with 11 compared to NU’s nine. The Green Spikers also incurred less unforced errors, incurring only a total of 36 as compared to 51 from the Bulldogs.
The Green Spikers will seek to bounce back versus the UST Growling Tigers on Wednesday, March 29, at 10 am in the same venue.
The scores:
DLSU 102– Onia 14, Dumago 10, Jose 8, Bacon 7, Del Pilar 5, Delos Reyes 3, G. Asia 2, R. Asia 1, Dimayuga 1
NU 105- Bagunas 21, Ismail 18, Natividad 15, Saura 8, Dayandante 4, Malabunga 3
