V-League: Lady Bulldogs take Game 1

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

AFTER completing a perfect run, the Ateneo Blue Eagles quickly focused on their next title target.

The Eagles turned back National University, 25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, yesterday in Game 2 of the Finals to capture their second successive Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Collegiate Conference championship at Philsports Arena in Pasig.

NU, though, gained the upperhand in women’s action as the Lady Bulldogs slipped past the Lady Eagles, 25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 18-16, in Game 1 last night of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Collegiate Conference championship.

Jaja Santiago and Aiko Urdas took charge as the Lady Bulldogs rallied from a 1-2 set deficit and saved two match points in the extended fifth set to prevail.

Just minutes after celebrating the Eagles’ triumph, coach Oliver Almadro said his players would train their sights on a third straight UAAP men’s crown.

“It’s good to win this one, but we really want the UAAP championship [this season],” Almadro said after his Eagles wrapped up the conference unbeaten.

If their finals showing is any indication, then it does look good for an Ateneo side boasting of conference MVP Marck Espejo and Russian-American rookie Paul Koyfman, the finals MVP.

Espejo and Koyfman spearheaded the Eagles’ attack with a combined 30 points.

Espejo fired 15 points, the last on a back-row hit that put the Eagles within championship point, 24-20.

Joshua Villanueva, Karl Irvin Baysa and Rex Intal teamed up for 19.

The Eagles repulsed the Bulldogs in the opener of the best-of-three series, 16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11.

Other conference awards went to Espejo (First Best Outside Spiker) and Ish Polvorosa (Best Setter), NU’s Madz Gampong (Best Opposite Spiker) and Kim Malabunga (Second Best Middle Blocker), La Salle’s Raymark Woo (Second Best Outside Spiker) and Rafael del Pilar (First Best Middle Blocker) and UST’s Lester Sawal (Best Libero).

UST also secured third place honors after edging La Salle via quotient.