ILOILO City – Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles got its offense going when it mattered the most as it defeated Akari Power Chargers, 25-10, 25-17, 20-25, 22-25, 15-9, on Saturday night at the University of San Agustin Gym here.
Faith Nisperos and Vanessa Gandler stood tall on the offensive end in the fifth set for the Blue Eagles. They avoided a massive meltdown against the Premier Volleyball League newcomer Power Chargers.
Staring at a 9-6 deficit midway in the fifth frame, Nisperos, Gandler and Alexa Miner anchored an 8-0 finishing attack for the Blue Eagles with their crisp attacks and blocks to edge out the Power Chargers.
Prior to that, the Blue Eagles were a picture of dominance in the opening set with Nisperos and Gandler feasting on the paltry defense of the Power Chargers to score a lopsided 25-10 set triumph.
The Power Chargers managed to keep in step with the Blue Eagles early in the second frame behind Trisha Genesis but the trio of Nisperos, Gandler and Miner came up with consecutive points to erect a 2-0 set edge.
Just like in the second set, the score was tight for both squads in the third set but Genesis, Lycha Ebon and Jhoanna Maraguinot leaned on their veteran smarts as Akari stayed alive with a 25-20 win.
Akari rode on the momentum of their third set victory as they jumped to an early advantage in the fourth frame but Ateneo rallied to within 22-24 before the Power Chargers pulled off an escape to send the match to a fifth set.
In the deciding set, the Blue Eagles and the Power Chargers exchanged the first five points for a 5-5 count before Akari cruised to a 9-6 advantage with connections from Ebon and Genesis.
In the preliminary game, Hua Siong College of Iloilo Red Phoenix clawed its way back from a set down to score a come-from-behind 22-25, 25-17, 25-10 victory over the Santa Clarita International School Primes.
Stunned by the Primes in the opening set, the Red Phoenix, which was one of the Iloilo City leg qualifiers in the Rebisco Volleyball League Western Visayas regionals, got its bearings going in the second and third frame to score the victory./PN
