Crack trio provides NU spikers scoring oomph

NATIONAL University sustained its impressive four-game run in the UAAP men’s volleyball tournament before the holiday break with the crack triumvirate of Vincent Raphael Mangulabnan, Jan Berlin Paglinawan and Peter Den Mar Torres proving to be its unstoppable scoring machine.

The defending champion Bulldogs never dropped a set in essaying masterful victories over La Salle, University of Santo Tomas, Adamson and University of the Philippines to pace the eight-team tournament.

Mangulabnan leads the tournament in service winners with a 58-percent accuracy while tallying a total of seven aces halfway through the first round.

Paglinawan is the season’s best spiker so far with a 51.22-percent success rate while making the top 10 in scoring with 50 points.

Torres, the Season 75 finals MVP, provides the veteran smarts and leadership for the Bulldogs, who are tipped to sweep the first round over the second-running Far Eastern University Tamaraws, last season’s losing finalist.

The Tamaraws have won three of their first four matches, losing only to tournament darkhorse Adamson Falcons in four sets on opening day.

FEU already defeated Ateneo, La Salle and University of the East.

Ateneo, UP, season host Adamson and UST are in a four-way tie for third with 2-2 cards, followed by La Salle at 1-3 and cellar-dweller UE at 0-4.

The men return to action this  Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan with UE battling La Salle at 8:30 a.m. and NU clashing with Ateneo at 1 p.m.