De La Salle University weathered a gritty challenge from Ateneo de Manila University in four sets, 26-24, 22-25, 25-13, 25-18, to move within a victory of a third straight finals appearance in the V-League Collegiate Challenge on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Green Spikers built momentum from a red-hot third set, where they overwhelmed the Blue Eagles with relentless attacks and airtight defense, before carrying that surge into the fourth to remain unbeaten after eight games in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
Coming off a rousing 25-13 third-set win—where they established a 19-10 cushion before pulling away—La Salle rode that momentum into the fourth. Glen Ventura sparked a 4-0 run that turned a narrow 4-3 lead into an 8-3 advantage.
From there, the Green Spikers never looked back, fending off Ateneo’s rallies and stretching the lead to as much as 21-15 before holding firm to close out the match in four sets.
“Siguro ‘yung mindset [ang adjustment] na not to give up,” said La Salle head coach Jose Roque. “Aaminin namin, I can see eh na medyo pagod na rin ‘yung team. So siguro ‘yung will na lang to win the game.
“Nag-connect sila. Nung second set medyo tensed, stiff. ‘Yung teammates nila nire-remind na nila what to do. So ayun, nag-connect sila," he added.
Eugene Gloria led the way for the Green Spikers with 18 points on 16 attacks, one block, and one ace, while also contributing six excellent digs.
Chris Hernandez and Ventura chipped in 11 markers each in the win.
Issa Ousseini and team captain Joshua Rodriguez anchored La Salle’s net defense, combining for seven blocks to finish with nine and seven points, respectively.
La Salle will now aim to finish the job in Game 2 on Thursday at 3 p.m., still at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
On the other side, Amil Pacino paced Ateneo with 17 points, while Jian Salarzon delivered an all-around performance with 14 points, 16 excellent receptions, and seven excellent digs.
Reigning UAAP MVP Kennedy Batas also added 12 points in the loss.
