By Ricky Manliguis
QUEZON CITY—After four seasons of heartbreak, the UAAP men’s
volleyball title is back to the streets of Sampaloc.
National Univeristy snapped Ateneo’s stronghold with an
emotionally-charged 25-20, 31-29, 22-25, 33-31 triumph in Game 2 of the UAAP
Season 80 men’s volleyball finals Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Bryan Bagunas catching fire, and superb net defenses,
the Bulldogs fought tooth-and-nail opposite the erstwhile three-time champions
Blue Eagles to finally win the title for the first time since Season 77.
After winning the first set, NU cruised to a 23-17 cushion
only for the Blue Eagles to come back and tied the match at 24-all, setting the
stage for a back-and-forth tussle. But at 29-all, Espejo commited two miscues,
a service error and a rejected attack, to give the Bulldogs the frame.
Espejo then joined forces with Ron Medalla and Gian Glorioso
as Ateneo pulled a set back by winning the third frame.
NU made a gallant stand as Espejo single-handedly lifted the
team in a marathon fourth set. Espejo shattered four Bulldog championship
points to come to a 31-all deadlock via a Medalla attack.
James Natividad gave NU its seventh championship point at
32-31 before letting a Medalla attempt sail out of bounds, prompting
celebrations from the blue-and-gold crowd.
“Tatlong finals na kami lumalaban. Pagtapos lagi kaming
umiiyak. Ngayon na iba naman, sobrang saya namin na nakuha namin ang
championship ngayon,” said NU head coach Dante Alinsunurin on the school’s
third men’s volleyball championship.
Bagunas, later named as Finals MVP, topscored with 22 points,
17 coming from attacks with four blocks and an ace. Natividad added 18 markers
while Kim Malabunga was the other double-digit scorer with 10.
“Pinakita ko naman na talagang hindi kami susuko. Pinakita ko
sa mga teammate ko na hindi na kami dapat basta-basta. Hindi na kami bata nag
a-ganun ganun lang. Kailangan naming may mapatunayan na talaga,” said the five-foot-five
Bagunas after the match.
Despite a minus-eight disadvantage in attacks, 50-58, the
Bulldogs lorded it over the net, blocking 19 Ateneo missiles over-all.The
Eagles, meanwhile, had 11 rejections.
Ateneo’s loss, on the other hand, was a bitter end to the
collegiate careers of the prolific Espejo, setter Ish Polvorosa, and captain
Karl Baysa. The five-time MVP Espejo cashed in a game-best 30 points with 26
kills, while Medalla issued 16 markers, and Glorioso 10.
Follow him on Twitter: @Teaching_Hero
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