UAAP volleyball: Rookie Louis Gamban powers Maroons past Eagles

University of the Philippines had an electric start to its UAAP Season 82 men’s volleyball campaign, scoring a stirring upset of Ateneo 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Facing off against last season’s third placers, the Fighting Maroons drew strength and confidence from Louis Gamban. The rookie out of Perpetual rained down 10 points, a bulk coming at the critical juncture of the match.

Trailing 20-21 in the decisive third frame, Gamban showed up with a lot of flare. He pummeled four consecutive hits, lifting UP at match point 24-21.

Nicolo Consuelo momentarily halted the surge with a mishit, before Ruskin Ijiran iced the game for good.

“Ang goal namin talaga is simulan ng maayos ‘yun season. Nahirapan lang talaga kasi Ateneo ‘yung simula agad so yung anticipation, ‘yung pressure andoon agad sa amin,” UP head coach Rald Ricafort said. “Sabi ko naman sa kanila lahat ng adjustments sa offense, defense, execute lang.”

John Lomibao led UP with 11 points, anchoring the Fighting Maroons in the early stretches of the match. Joshua Castillo and captain Mac Millete provided ample support with nine and eight markers, respectively.

The last time UP won a match against Ateneo was back in Season 76 in a first round encounter that ended in four sets.

Having ended a long drought against a team that paraded the likes of Marck Espejo and Tony Koyfman in previous iterations, Ricafort feels relieved. But he said that such a dreadful past is not enough to weigh down the Fighting Maroons.

“Hindi ko na iniisip ‘yun na may history na matagal walang panalo basta lahat ng kalaban namin kailangan ready kami mentally atsaka physically,” Ricafort said

Chumason Njigha had his game-high output of 12 points go for naught. Carlo Glorioso and Kurt Aguilar managed 11 and nine markers, respectively, in a losing cause.

UP seeks to build from this win when it faces University of the East. Meanwhile, Ateneo eyes a breakthrough at the expense of De La Salle University. Both matches will be held on Saturday, March 7 at the same venue.

Earlier, National University began its three-peat quest on a triumphant note.

In their first game without reigning MVP Bryan Bagunas and the reliable troika of Francis Saura, Madz Gampong and Kim Malabunga, the Bulldogs overcame a tough challenge from University of Santo Tomas 27-25, 23-25, 25-19, 27-25 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Nico Almendras came through for the reigning champions with a double-double performance of 20 points and 14 excellent receptions. Former UE stalwart Ed Camposano opened up his one-and-done year with NU on a high, scoring 19 markers with four coming from blocks.

NU captain James Natividad supplied 11 points while Joshua Retamar ably distributed the wealth with 21 excellent sets.

Despite a stellar showing from his integral cogs, head coach Dante Alinsunurin admitted that the Bulldogs had a slow start because of his new integrated system, as NU took some time cranking up its offensive machine.

“Bago kasi yung naging sistema namin, yung opensa ng UST, tapos ‘yung adjustment namin mabagal,” Alinsunurin said. “Yung first game namin medyo matigas talaga buti na lang nung bandang huli, hats off kami sa depensa namin.”

The Bulldogs needed to get their acts together following a second set collapse. They regained control and did not trail until early in the fourth set when the Tiger Spikers snatched an 8-6 lead.

NU’s precise execution at the net and UST errors allowed the former to lock the count at 16, before stretching it to a 20-16 spread.

UST refused to go down without a fight, leaning on the scoring exploits of Joshua Umandal and Wewe Medina to uncork a blistering surge that forged a deuce.

After a trade of crucial blows, Berhashidin Daymil roofed Genesis Redido to buoy NU at match point before Nico Almendras scored a clutch ace to seal the deal.

In the process, the Bulldogs have stretched their winning streak to 17 matches, dating back from last season.

Umandal led all scorers with 25 points for UST in a losing cause. Lorenz Señoron and Medina had 15 and 14 markers, respectively, that went down the drain.

Source: Manila Bulletin