The complete opposite of their Round One confrontation—the DLSU Green Spikers leashed the NU Bulldogs in four sets, 25-19, 25-18, 31-33, 27-25, earlier today, April 14, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Now possessing an 8-3 record, the team from Taft’s aspirations for a top-two finish in the standings are alive and well as they near the end of the second round of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
Leading the DLSU Green Spikers to this valiant victory was Vince Maglinao, who tallied 22 points, 19 attacks, two blocks, and one service ace, which also got him the Player of the Game accolade thanks to his superb performance on the court. Echoing his performance were JM Ronquillo and Noel Kampton, who both contributed double-digits to the scoreboard with 19 points and 18 markers, respectively.
Despite falling short, Angelo Almendras led the defending champions’ scoring with 22 points, 20 attacks, and two blocks. Finishing in double-digits for the Bulldogs was Michaelo Buddin, who came up with 16 markers of his own.
Walking the dogs
Motivated by their past shortcomings, the starting six on the floor for La Salle moved as one, exhibiting superb floor defense and offense from the service area en route to a six-point advantage off a block from Maglinao, 8-2. The Green Spikers kept up their offensive vigor by causing mayhem in the middle as Maglinao traded points with NU’s Rwenzmel Taguibolos, 13-9.
Following a timeout from the white shirts with the score at 16-11, Maglinao quickly unleashed an ace that sent the Bulldogs scurrying for cover. In their alarm, the Sampaloc-based squad committed a string of sloppy receptions and errors that handed DLSU their largest lead in the set, 20-12. Nat Del Pilar stepped up by earning points on crucial plays and was supported by Maglinao, who was undeniably the hero of the set as he scored the Green Spikers’ last two points to muzzle the Bulldogs, 25-19.
Raining arrows
Early on in the second set, NU held onto a short-lived lead which was spearheaded by Jade Disquitado, 4-3. Coming from a statement first-set win, the DLSU Green Spikers managed to maintain their hot-handed momentum as NU still suffered from shaky reception. La Salle capitalized on this as an off-the-block attack by Ronquillo put his team in the lead, 7-5. The offensive duo of Billie Anima and Maglinao continued to capitalize on NU’s faulty digging, which gave them a comfortable three-point advantage, 14-11.
The Taft-based team punished the floor defense of the Bulldogs, which resulted in numerous unforced errors. Due to this, NU lagged behind in the scoring department, which forced them to call a timeout, 18-14. To keep the Green-and-White hot on the court, middle blocker Del Pilar went for a statement single block which silenced the Bulldogs’ offense for the remainder of the set, 21-16. Putting pressure on their opponents was Ronquillo, who squeezed in a point through a triple block from NU, 23-17. To end the set with back-to-back gallant points was Maglinao—giving his team a sliver of hope to hopefully sweep the match, 25-18.
Big dog status
Consecutive errors from La Salle gave the Bulldogs a 4-0 start in the third set, but the green shirts swiftly recovered through Del Pilar’s attacks and Kampton’s back-to-back crosscourt hits that stole the lead, 8-7. From that point forward, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair, with both sides taking the lead and promptly losing it until a crosscourt attack from Almendras broke the spell, putting NU up by two, 18-16. The defending champions’ lead, however, did not last long as the Kampton-Ronquillo tandem’s activity at the net equalized the set at 18-all.
With NU close to a set win after Jenngerard Diao’s off-the-block hit, 24-22, Maglinao once again displayed his heroics by delivering a fireball across the court, which was followed by miscommunication on an NU combination play that sent the set into a deuce, 24-all. Neither side was ready to collapse in crunch time as both squads exchanged points, but Team Captain Ronquillo earned DLSU a breather after his emphatic block ignited the Green-and-White crowd, giving them the lead, 28-27. The game then ensued after NU’s block touch challenge was deemed successful, with Maglinao continuing to carry his team forward. As the set reached a deadlock at 31-all, the Bulldogs showed off their championship mettle when Jan Abanilla’s strike to zone six gave them a set point, and an error from Ronquillo ended the heart-stopping set in NU’s favor, 33-31.
Heartstopping showdown
After an extended-set affair, the Bulldogs and Archers continued their high spirits entering the fourth set. It was a seesaw affair during the first few plays, but a bomb-loaded attack by Ronquillo and a service ace put La Salle up 10-6. Despite holding an advantage, DLSU suffered from NU’s net blocking, which managed to cut down the lead to two, 12-10. The Bulldogs recovered from their sloppy reception as they focused on regrouping their net offense and defense. In the attempt to grab back the lead, NU’s Almendras went for an attack that was too much for La Salle to handle, tying the game at 17-all.
Much like the start of the fourth set, it was another back-and-forth affair, but Kampton unleashed a crosscourt attack to tie the match at 23-all. The following rallies were filled with thousands of spectators watching the ball back and forth on both ends of the court; however, Maglinao’s offensive prowess at the net ensured that the Green-and-White would walk away as victors. After never-ending determination from the Green Spikers and another extended set in which an unsuccessful challenge by NU capped off, the Taft-based team finally shot down the Bulldogs, 27-25.
Following this statement win, Head Coach Jose Roque revealed that the fruits of their labor during practice finally showed, “Training namin lumabas lahat at saka gusto na namin talaga. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, para hindi mag-doubt, ilabas niyo lahat yung gusto niyong laro. Nasa sa inyo ‘yan hindi na sa amin. Training tayo, pinaghirapan natin, all you have to do is show it.” This game sparked a new DLSU Green Archers team and mindset as they reach the tail-end of Round Two.
(During our training, that’s where everything showed, and we really wanted to win. I told them to show me the type of game they wanted to play so that we wouldn’t doubt it. That is on you and not on us. Let us train and exert effort, all you have to do is show it.)
Setting their sights on clinching a Final Four berth, the Green Spikers will look to snare the AdU Soaring Falcons in their next encounter on Wednesday, April 17, at 10 am at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Maglinao 22, Ronquillo 19, Kampton 18, Del Pilar 12, Anima 4, Adajar 4, Guerrero 0, Gloria 0, De Jesus 0
NU 1 – Almendras 22, Buddin 16, Taguibolos 8, Aringo 7, Bandola 6, Diao 6, Retamar 4, Disquitado 4, Abanilla 4, Mukaba 2
Set Scores: 25-19, 25-18, 31-33, 27-25
