The UST Golden Spikers ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the winless UP Fighting Maroons and winning all three games in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City by scores of 25-23, 25-14, and 25-16.
Josh Ybanez put on another outstanding effort for the Golden Spikers, scoring 21 points and dishing out 11 receptions.
After a closely contested opening set, UST quickly gained the upper hand and won the second and third sets with ease. The Golden Spikers dominated the last set, going from a 17–13 lead to a dominant 24–15 lead, which was capped off with a kill by Gboy de Vega. Trevor Valera quickly ended the set and the match, despite Ybanez making a service mistake in the next play.
With 11 points, Rainier Flor gave the Espana-based team more firepower, and de Vega and Sherwin Umandal both chipped in with eight points. Louis Gamban led the UP with 13 points, and the Fighting Maroons’ Angelo Lipata chipped in with eight more.
With scores of 28-26, 25-22, and 30-28, the Adamson Soaring Falcons defeated the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the second game thanks to their tenacity.
In the third set, Ken Batas secured four straight points to square the game at 24-22 and push Ateneo toward a possible comeback. But Kenneth Paulino’s successful attack after an error by Amil Pacinio knotted the set. Ateneo made an attempt to hold onto the lead, but Adamson recovered by taking advantage of timely attacks.
The game was fiercely contested all the way to the end. Pacinio gave Ateneo a brief lead at 28-27, but Jan Mangulabnan’s back-to-back mistakes allowed Adamson to win 30-28.
With 16 points apiece, John Gay and Paulino led Adamson’s scoring, while Batas led Ateneo with 20 points, with Salarzon contributing 16 points.
As a result, UP continues to struggle and has lost six straight games. The Soaring Falcons, Growling Tigers, and Blue Eagles all have 3-3 records in the tournament.
