The UST Golden Spikers surged past the UP Fighting Maroons for their fifth straight victory in the UAAP Season 88 men's volleyball tournament.
University of Santo Tomas racked up its fifth straight win by dominating University of the Philippines, 25-22, 25-18, 25-16, ahead of a key clash in the UAAP Season 88 men’s volleyball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
The Golden Spikers, who opened the season with a loss, improved their record to 5-1 ahead of their showdown with the undefeated Far Eastern University Tamaraws (6-0) this Saturday at the same Pasay venue.
UST successfully limited UP ace Olayemi Raheem, the league's leading scorer and spiker, to a season-low 12 points.
“We prepared to neutralize Raheem pero mas maganda ‘yung targeting namin this game and fewer errors. Maganda ‘yung mindset ng mga players today,” said head coach Odjie Mamon.
After a tightly contested first set, the Golden Spikers pulled away in the second thanks to a seven-point streak that turned a 10-11 deficit into a 17-11 lead, eventually taking the set 25-18.
In the third set, JJ Macam, Josh Ybañez, and Sherwin Umandal combined forces to close out the match in just 78 minutes.
UST limited its errors to just 17—its lowest of the season—compared to a previous season average of 30.6 errors per match.
Dux Yambao delivered 18 excellent sets as UST ran a balanced attack, led by two-time MVP Josh Ybañez, who contributed 13 points on 12-of-23 spikes and an ace, while also showing his defensive skills with 14-of-18 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs.
Rookie Joncriz Ayco added an efficient 9-of-14 kills, JJ Macam scored nine points, and Trevor Valera and Sherwin Umandal contributed seven and five points, respectively. UST also benefited from 26 free points due to UP errors.
The Fighting Maroons have now dropped three straight games, sliding to 2-4 in a three-way tie for fourth place with the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Spikers.
Zairus Pacure supported Raheem with eight points, while Milven Francisco added seven. Tommy Castrodes struggled, scoring only five points on 5-of-26 attacks.
UP will close the first round against fellow struggling team Adamson University on Sunday, also at the MOA Arena.