Green Spikers fall short to NU, surrender twice-to-beat advantage

The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Spikers fell short to the National University (NU) Bulldogs in a heartstopping five-set showdown, 25–19, 21–25, 13–25, 25–21, 14–16, surrendering the twice-to-beat advantage prize to the latter.

The Green Spikers started the match strong with back-to-back points from Noel Kampton’s attacks across the court and off the block, 2–0. With an efficient offense and front-line defense, the Bulldogs struggled to close in on the point gap and catch up to La Salle’s lead. With this, NU’s Leo Aringo exerted extra effort to score with a down-the-line attack but this was followed by a service error, 16–11, keeping the lead with DLSU. After multiple errors from the Bulldogs, Vince Maglinao then secured the first set for La Salle by scoring the last two points with a cross-court attack and a drop ball, 25–19.

Once again, Kampton opened the second set with a dropball attack and was followed by Captain JM Ronquillo’s down-the-line attack, 2–0. From there, Angelo Almendras countered with a cross-court attack of his own, 2–1. With an improved defense from the Bulldogs, the Green Spikers were left struggling to get attacks through. NU’s Almendras-Buddin-Diao trio moved swiftly around the net to attack and defend, going head-to-head with Taft’s Kampton-Maglinao-Ronquillo trio. Unforced errors began piling up on the Green and White which, ultimately, led to the widening gap in points. Eugene Gloria then scored with an ace and an attack error from Aringo set the score at 17–19. The Green Spikers found their groove too late in the game as Buds Buddin soon closed the set, 21–25, in favor of NU this time, with an attack through the block.

Buddin stayed on a roll, scoring the first two points for the Bulldogs, putting them in the lead in the third set, 1–2. After a few sequences of plays, Maglinao attempted an attack but got blocked by Choi Diao and followed with an attack error that further widened the point gap, 2–4. DLSU struggled to anticipate attacks, committing consecutive errors that forced Head Coach Jose Roque to call for a timeout at 9–15, as the Bulldogs had a comfortable six-point lead. NU’s lead then ballooned to eight with Captain Owa Retamar scoring with a drop ball, 13–21. Unable to score, the set belonged to the Bulldogs after it finished off at 13–25 with an attack error from Maglinao.

Coming into the fourth set, Kampton sparked the scoring with a cross-court attack. This along with an attack error from Buddin and a corner attack from Nathaniel Del Pilar gave the Green Spikers a two-point lead, 3–1. Del Pilar continued to score with a quick dropball attack to the middle court, 9–6, with DLSU still in the lead. Eager to stop the bleeding, Rwenzmel Taguibolos hammered down the ball to the middle court but committed a service error right after, 12–9. Buddin came in blazing with attacks of all sorts that closed in on the point gap, but it was not enough to take the lead, 21–29, as Eco Adajar scored with another block which put the game at set-point, 24–21. The fourth set was soon won by La Salle after an attack error from Almendras, 25–21.

The final set started in favor of the Green Spikers after a Kampton cross-court attack while the Bulldogs remained scoreless after two Ronquillo blocks, 3–0. By the fifth set, it was a team effort for La Salle to keep up with Buddin who secured most of the attack points for NU. Both teams were battling it out for the victory when a cross-court Maglinao attack was countered by Diao’s high-speed middle attack, 9-all. Both teams were deadlocked until Maglinao’s down-the-line attack called for a deuce. The Green Spikers did not go down without a fight and continued to persevere through every play. But unfortunately, a Buddin attack sealed the Bulldog’s victory and a twice-to-beat advantage in the upcoming Final Four games, 14–16.

The DLSU Green Spikers are set to clash with the NU Bulldogs once again, for a shot to compete in the Championships.

Set Scores: 25–19, 21–15, 13–25, 25–21, 14–16

Box Scores:

DLSU 2 — Kampton 22, Ronquillo 20, Maglinao 19, Anima 4, Del Pilar 3, Adajar 1, Gloria 1, De Jesus 0, Mendoza 0, Poquita 0, Ventura 0, Guerrero (L) 0

NU 3 — Buddin 32, Almendras 15, Diao 11, Aringo 9, Retamar 6, Abanilla 0, Belostrino 0, Gapultos (L) 0, Sumagui (L) 0