After staying spotless on day one of the UAAP Season 84’s Men’s Beach Volleyball tournament, the DLSU Green Spikers kicked off their weekend by succumbing to the ADMU Blue Eagles in two sets, 21-16, 21-18. However, the trio of Noel Kampton, Vince Maglinao, and Andre Espejo bounced back by defeating the FEU Tamaraws in a thrilling three-set battle, 25-24, 19-21, 15-11, and went on to continue their momentous form through Sunday’s game by routing the Adamson Soaring Falcons in two sets, 21-14, 21-13.
Falling to their rivals
Heading into Saturday’s anticipated Ateneo-La Salle matchup, both teams remained undefeated with intentions of sustaining their perfect record. However, the Taft-based squad got off to a slow start against Blue Eagles Abai Llenos and Amil Pacinio and lost the first set, 16-21. Although they wanted to force a deciding third frame, Ateneo closed off the game by winning the second set, 18-21. With the defeat in mind, there is no question that this serves as a learning experience for the Green Spikers.
Kampton expressed his frustration after the defeat against the Katipunan-based team, “Na frustrate kami ni Vince. Nawala kami sa tempo, parang na blackout kami bigla sa game. Pero okay lang kasi wake-up call samin ‘yun and mas okay na matalo sa una kesa sa huli.”
(Vince and I were frustrated. We lost our tempo and it was almost as if we blacked out during the game. But, it’s okay, it served as a wake-up call for us and it is better that we lost early than losing later on in the tournament.)
Displaying grit and grind
The Green Spikers had no time to wallow in defeat, as they had to face the pesky FEU Tamaraws. After tallying their first loss in the tournament, Kampton and Maglinao doubled down on their chemistry, as the former stressed, “‘Yung changes namin ni Vince, nag-usap kami, nag-communicate kami na, ‘Ito gagawin natin.’”
(Vince and I talked, saying, ‘This is what we will do,’ communicating changes that we needed.)
Their matchup versus FEU was tight from the get-go, but the duo from Taft found themselves behind, 9-12, despite their opponents’ struggle with errors. From there, it was a game of catch up, but Kampton willed the Green Spikers to steal the first set, 25-24.
Neither of the teams let up in the second frame, with FEU Tamaraws Jelord Talisayan and Vincent Nadera challenging the Green Spikers all throughout. After being tied at 18-all, FEU edged out the Green-and-White to win the set, 19-21, and took the game to a decisive third set.
The opposing duos continued to hustle in the sand, tying the score at 10-all. However, Kampton and Maglinao dug deep and began dominating their opponents on the defensive end. The game was taken to match point, 14-11, before Kampton wiped a hit off the opposing attack to secure La Salle’s third victory.
Ending with momentum
After splitting their results on day two, the pair donning Green-and-White had to deal with the Adamson Soaring Falcons to cap the weekend. Kampton and Maglinao entered the matchup with the “same goal and focus” of winning as they looked to start the day with “positive vibes” and “guidance from God.”
True enough, La Salle showed enough poise to dominate the Soaring Falcons, rounding up their outing with a convincing two-set victory, 21-14, 21-13. This was their sole game on the third day of the tournament.
With this, the Green Spikers finished a tough three-day stretch of grueling competition. The compact schedule of UAAP Season 84 is no joke, as Kampton shared, “Nakakapagod sobra ‘yung mga [schedule] ng game. Naglalaro kami, four to five sets everyday; nakakaubos sobra ‘yung game against FEU. Pinipilit nalang namin, [nagka-cramps] na kami. Pero we chose to fight for La Salle.”
(The schedule of the games was really tiring. We play four to five sets everyday, and the game against FEU really drained us. We were really pushing ourselves, despite getting cramps. But we chose to fight for La Salle.)
After closing out their first few games with an impressive run, Kampton wanted to personally thank the Lasallian community, “To the DLSU community, thank you, kasi grabe ‘yung support niyo samin. Nakikita namin kayo [na nanonood] at mas lalo kami nagaganahan maglaro. Nawawala pagod namin and gusto namin manalo kasi nahihiya kami sa inyo sa effort niyo mag-cheer sa amin.”
(To the DLSU community, thank you so much for your outstanding support. We get more motivation to play when we see you watching from the stands. Our fatigue goes away because of our motivation to win—all to repay the effort you give to cheer us on.”
The Green Spikers put up an extraordinary effort to bounce back after suffering an early defeat against Ateneo and are seeking a strong finish on the final day of the elimination round against defending champions UST Growling Tigers at Sands SM By the Bay on Friday, June 3, at 9 am.
