Defending champions DLSU Green Spikers were overwhelmed by the FEU Tamaraws’ grit as they got toppled in a four-set crash, 22-25, 20-25, 25-18, 19-25, to yield Game One of the V-League PH Men’s Division Finals series yesterday, September 29, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Uriel Mendoza anchored the scoring for La Salle, contributing 13 points from 10 attacks, two blocks, and a service ace. Supporting him were fellow wing spikers Chris Hernandez and Rui Ventura, who scored 10 points and nine markers, respectively.
Spearheading the win for the FEU Tamaraws was Player of the Game Dryx Saavedra, who scored 19 points from 16 attacks, three blocks, and three excellent digs. Joining him in the double digits were Lirick Mendoza, who put up 13 markers, and Mikko Espartero with 11 points.
Arrows too blunt
Valiantly aiming for back-to-back championships in the V-League PH Men’s Division, the Green Spikers have yet to steal a set from the FEU Tamaraws all season. The Morayta-based squad quickly dealt damage on the scoreboard as Saavedra delivered an offense-defense pairing off a crosscourt dagger and kill block, 3-0. However, the Green-and-White responded, slowly but surely activating their championship form with the help of backrow bombs from Hernandez and Ventura and a service ace by Mendoza to put the match at a deadlock, 6-all. From there, it was a teeter-totter of leads as both teams exchanged quicks and blocks in a nip-and-tuck race, shying off the second technical timeout, 15-all.
FEU’s consistent offense and impenetrable defense made all the difference as they gradually distanced themselves from the defending champions, boosted by two straight shutdowns by Saavedra and Espartero to spark a 4-0 run, 19-15. On the other hand, the Spikers from Taft continued to gift their foes free points off long balls from both service and attack lines. Despite a last minute showing by Von Marata with a block-shattering hit, Saavedra carried on with high percentages and sealed the set for the Tamaraws with a deafening crosscourt bomb, 25-22.
Adverse slip-up
Unable to break through FEU’s varied offense, DLSU suffered an early disadvantage in the second set after solely receiving points off of the Tamaraws’ errors, 4-2. After recognizing Eric Layug and Ventura’s tireless block efforts, Jelord Talisayan used the hands of the Taft Towers to score, giving FEU a four-point advantage, 8-5.
Despite Eugene Gloria and Marata’s explosive crosscourt daggers, the Green Spikers’ unforced errors made it difficult to catch up to FEU’s widening lead, 17-12. La Salle’s frail defense began to crumble as Saavedra hammered down a powerful crosscourt attack right in front of the opposing libero, furthering the Tamaraws’ lead and complicating the chase, 21-16. The team’s low-scoring output, coupled with costly errors, has wrecked the team’s composure. Even with Mendoza’s gutsy crosscourt attack momentarily ralied his team, the Green Spikers ultimately dropped the second set after Marata’s attack went outside, 25-20.
Puzzle almost solved
Shrugging off the defeats in the first two sets, the Green Spikers proved why they were the reigning champions, taking control of the third set and denying their foes a straight-set triumph. Mendoza quickly chalked up two consecutive blocks to reignite the spirit of La Salle, 3-0. But shaky floor defense from the men in green gave the Tamaraws a chance to close the gap as Doula Ndongala delivered from the middle with his signature quicks and Espartero continued to provide reliable support to a Saavedra-led offense, cutting the Green Spikers’ lead to one, 7-6.
Nevertheless, four straight errors haunted the Tamaraws as La Salle regained a comfortable five-point cushion, 12-7. The Green Spikers maintained control as they offered diversified offense off a slide attack by Josh Magalaman, a one-two play by setter Jerico Adajar, and off-the-block hits by Hernandez to put them at set point with their biggest lead of the match, 24-17. And true to the running theme of the Tamaraws’ story arc, Charles Absin’s service error easily handed the Green Spikers their first set win over the Tamaraws–not only of this game but also of the season–forcing a fourth set, 25-18.
Sizeable defeat
After extending the match to a fourth set, the Taft-based team struggled to maintain ball control as their attacks continued to land outside the end zone. Saavedra and Mendoza made their presence felt early on in the set, scoring from drop balls and down-the-line attacks, 5-3. La Salle tried to regain momentum by focusing on smart plays, positioning their attacks away from the strong defenders as Ventura drilled an attack from the opposite, 9-7. The Tamaraws then fueled a 3-0 run as their defense was in tip-top condition, effectively blocking Hernandez, a typically efficient scorer, who was heavily guarded despite experimenting with varied attack methods, 12-7.
Layug, who worked as the decoy for combination plays, made the most of the sets dished to him as he scored an attack from the middle, supplemented by Gloria who pierced through FEU’s wall, contributing to the team’s arsenal, 14-9. Seemingly rattled by FEU’s stability, Adajar’s second ball was shaky at best forcing his spikers to adjust to the sets given. Though Mendoza relied on blocking to score points, the team remained down by six, 18-12.
Ultimately, the Green Spikers lost the confidence they had built all throughout the game as they were left scrambling in the defensive department and lost points due to errors on the service line, 23-17. Regardless of the tough spirit, La Salle displayed in the final seconds of the match, the rally ended as Mendoza’s attack went out of the endzone, conceding the first win of the best-of-three finals series to the FEU Tamaraws, 25-19.
In hopes of forcing a rubber match in the homestretch of their title defense campaign, the DLSU Green Spikers will lock horns with the FEU Tamaraws once again in Game Two of the finals series on Wednesday, October 2, at 2 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 1 – Mendoza 13, Hernandez 10, Ventura 9, Gloria 6, Layug 6, Magalaman 6, Adajar 3, Marata 3, De Castro 0, Guererro 0, Poquita 0, Retiro 0
FEU 3 – Saavedra 19, Mendoza 13, Espartero 11, Ndongala 9, Talisayan 7, Bituin 2, Martinez 1, Absin 0, Ceballos 0, Codilla 0, De Guzman 0,
Set Scores: 22-25, 20-25, 25-18, 19-25
