MANILA, Philippines – The NU men’s volleyball dynasty will not go down that easily.
Facing the prospect of a disappointing end to their UAAP five-peat title bid in Season 87, the mighty Bulldogs bounced back with a 25-20, 22-25, 25-15, 18-25, 15-11 finals Game 2 win on Wednesday, May 14, at the Mall of Asia Arena to force a winner-take-all finale.
Buds Buddin and Obed Mukaba each scored 20 in the gripping escape, with the former living purely off attacks while the latter laced a game-high 6 blocks to his line.
Writing a script similar to Game 1, NU dictated the pace by mounting a 2-1 lead off a resounding 25-15 rout in Set 3, but again fell to FEU in the fourth frame, this time in blowout fashion, 25-18.
In the deciding fifth, however, just as the Tamaraws took control with an 8-5 edge at change-court point, the Bulldogs finally changed the story with a crucial 5-0 surge thanks to four FEU errors to force a 10-8 lead.
Though the Tamaraws got it together and netted a 10-all tie, NU already seized momentum back to its side as Buddin scored on a power hit, 11-10, before Peng Taguibolos blocked Dryx Saavedra, 12-10.
An FEU setting miscommunication spelled the beginning of the end at 13-10 despite an Ariel Cacao block for 13-11, as Leo Aringo reached match point with a push hit, 14-11, before Jade Disquitado rose for one last emphatic block on Saavedra to seal the deal and save the five-peat bid for another day.
“I’m very thankful with how my players moved. Though we weren’t able to hear one another anymore, we knew what to do based on how we looked at one another, and I’m thankful because they delivered, especially in the fifth set,” NU head coach Dante Alinsunurin said in Filipino.
“They were up three, I just said we have to rally back, remember our training, and apply it to the game. We can’t put ourselves in a situation where we’d give up. I’m proud that we fought back in that fifth set, and we know this isn’t over. We have to work for the next game as well.”
Saavedra followed up a Game 1-best 25-point outing with another game-high 24 in the heartbreaking loss, as spiker Amet Bituin and blocker Chad Absin were far runners-up in the scoreline at 10 and 9 points, respectively. – Rappler.com