HOST school University of the Philippines raised the curtains on the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament — and did so with a rare win.
The Fighting Maroons won a UAAP season-opener for the first time in three years over the same opponent in fellow cellar-dweller University of the East, 25-18, 26-24, 24-26, 13-25, 15-13, on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
With its early two-set lead going up in smoke, State U regrouped and then repulsed the Lady Warriors' reverse-sweep bid by firing five unanswered points to begin the fifth set and never looked back.
Winning its first match of the double-round robin preliminaries bodes well for UP’s hopes of avoiding a third consecutive one-win season.
Coach Boc's winning debut
After years of being La Salle’s right-hand man from the sidelines, first-year head coach Benson Bocboc also earned a debut win with a new-look maroon-and-green side that paraded eight rookies and only six holdovers from last season.
Still, the debuting shot-caller saw his Fighting Maroons lose their chill in the two sets they dropped since taking a 2-0 advantage.
For one, the nerves got the better of his rookie-laden squad — not only with how their lead began to fade, but also with such a grand change of scenery playing at a huge venue.
Being the veteran coach that he is, however, the new State U mentor still won’t use such reasons to make excuses for nearly letting a rare win slip from their hands.
“Marami sa kanila, first time maglalaro sa MOA. Napakalamig ng venue, so hindi natin alam. Wala namang excuses, pero may mga factor na kailangan natin paghandaan at masanay pa,” Bocboc said.
“Lagi naman silang palaban eh. ‘Yung bandang dulo, makikita natin ‘yun (na kailangan) more pa. Mag-aadjust lang kami, mas mabilis, tapos lahat ng players na off the bench, maging ready lang dapat lagi.”
Prized rookie Kianne Olango was more than up to take on the tough test with 15 points, as veteran Joan Monares topped the scoring column with 17 markers of her own. Irah Jaboneta and Nina Ytang also added 12 and 11, respectively, in UP's gutsy win.
On the other hand, Allan Mendoza, former assistant coach for Diliman transferees Casiey Dongallo and Co., saw his 11-woman squad fail to gain a measure of revenge on the school at the opposite end of the Lady Warriors’ offseason exodus.
Nonetheless, their gallant stand was fronted by Khy Cepada who had 24 points, as well as skipper Kayce Balingit who chimed in 12 markers.
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