The defending champions DLSU Green Spikers came through with a blitzkrieg sweep of the CSJL Knights, 25-19, 27-25, 28-26, on a successful inaugural day of their campaign for back-to-back crowns in the 2024 V-League Men’s Division earlier today, July 28, at the Paco Arena.
Captain Libero Menard Guerrero led the pack with his remarkable scope on the floor, contributing 10 digs and 15 excellent receptions to be hailed Player of the Game. Rookie outside hitter Emmanuel Hernandez showed out with a promising debut after notching 14 points off 11 attacks, two aces, and one block as the best scorer of the squad. Eugene Gloria and Rui Ventura rallied behind as unsung heroes after reliably contributing nine and eight points each, respectively.
Letran’s losing yet valiant efforts were not left uncelebrated, as Vince Himzon’s consistent offensive prowess chalked up 14 points for his squad. Adding to the Knightly flair was Steven Sta. Maria and Andrew Abeto, who each marked nine and seven points of their own.
Unwavering winning ways
As the defending champions stepped foot into the court where they were previously crowned, the Green-and-White immediately proved themselves in an offensive showing in the opening set. A starting six consisting of scorers from the UAAP Season 86 bench, Ventura’s dagger to zone two, Gloria’s block-shatterer, and Eric Layug’s precise ace immediately put La Salle on the scoreboard, 4-1. But boosted by the green jerseys’ errors, the Intramuros-based Knights relied on the offensive outputs of middle blocker Himzon and outside hitter John Derrick Bautista as their quicks and tips kept their squad at bay, 10-5. Still, they continued to falter with free points handed off momentum-breaking service and attack errors.
La Salle capitalized on the new addition of Hernandez’s deafening offense, as they notched almost twofold of the opponents’ markers, 17-9. But despite a supposedly smooth path in the homestretch, the Green Spikers seemingly caught the error-plagued curse of their foes as violations rained from the side of Taft in a seesaw matchup. Toward the end of the set, after two straight service freebies from both squads, Gloria had the final laugh with an off-the-block bomb to seal the opening set, 25-19.
Back-and-forth affair
The Knights took early control during the opening minutes of the second set, with tighter defense and sharper combination play across the net. CSJL put together an initial 4-0 run led by kills from Andrew Abeto and Himzon. This caught the Green Spikers off guard before reaching the first technical timeout with a five-point advantage, 8-3.
At this point of the second frame, La Salle’s combination plays were sluggish compared to their performance in the previous set. The Green Spikers eventually gained momentum after improving their floor defense and activated their middles, which trimmed down the deficit to single digits, though a Letran error tied the game at 13-all. The lead alternated between the two teams, with DLSU reaching the second technical timeout with a one-point cushion , 16-15.
After intense rallies from both sides of the court, the CSJL Knights reclaimed dominance with a precise kill from Himzon and a flurry of errors on the end of the Green-and-White, boosting Letran to a 21-23 lead. In an attempt to make a comeback, the La Salle coaching staff called for two momentum-killing timeouts to try and salvage the set. These timeouts proved to be successful as the Taft-based team spoiled Letran’s advantage, which salvaged two points to tie the set at 24-all. With the set in the balance, Michael Fortuna led the late flurry with a kill and crucial block before Gloria closed the extended set, 27-25.
No point wasted
Aiming to immediately make a statement with the match, step-by-step composure proved to be the sharpest arrow for the Archers in the final set. The first rallies saw both teams squandering at the net and service line with a hot potato sequence of errors and possessions, 7-all. The Green Spikers constantly attempted to take the lead from deadlock as opposite spiker Fortuna showed out from the back row, 12-11. However, the Knights, as did Abeto and Sta. Maria, refused to back down. Sta. Maria’s block-shattering hits neutralized the lead, allowing Himzon to cap off a 4-0 run with a quick attack and acquire a three-point gutter, 16-13.
After a back-and-forth showing of attacks and errors from both squads, CSJL held on to the lead with their dominant blocking and Dave Lardizabal’s crucial slide attacks up until the set point, 24-19. But the Green Spikers refused to give up a set as an explosive putback from setter Eco Adajar and a service ace by middle blocker Joshua Magalaman led the Green-and-White to extend the battle and eventually secure the match through the consistent offense of Hernandez, 28-26.
After losing a lot of core players from their solid UAAP Season 86 roster, Coach Aaron Velez of the DLSU Green Spikers remarked that this match served as an outlet for the team to develop chemistry, noting that what was seen today is not the final product. “We’re taking this as an opportunity for us to hone our skills individually and then the chemistry will just follow. Like what we’ve said, this is pre-season so this won’t be definitely the totality of the gauge,” he assured.
The DLSU Green Spikers will be looking to build on this opening-day win when they take on the UST Growling Tigers for their second match in the 2024 V-League on August 7, Wednesday, at 5 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Hernandez 14, Gloria 9, Ventura 8, Magalaman 7, Layug 6, Fortuna 4, Adajar 2, Espejo 2, De Castro 1, Flores R. 0, Guerrero 0, Poquita 0
CSJL 0 – Himzon 14, Sta. Maria 9, Abeto 7, Bermido 5, Barba 4, Bautista 4, Caballero 3, Lardizabal 3, Arano 1, Vicente 1, Catris 0, Sumagaysay 0
Set Scores: 25-19, 27-25, 28-26
