National University bucked a spate of miscues and scrambled for a 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 victory over Far Eastern U even as University of Perpetual Help System DALTA warded off Emilio Aguinaldo College, 29-27, 26-24, 25-19, at the start of the V-League Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena in Manila on Wednesday.
After barely holding off the Tams in the first two sets, the Bulldogs put up a strong finishing kick in the third as middle blocker Obed Mukaba fired two aces and came through with a dig that set up Leo Aringo for a kill as the defending champions finished off the Tams behind a decisive 4-0 closing run.
"Masaya naman kami sa naging resulta. Nakuha naman namin yung panalo in straight sets," said NU coach Dante Alinsunurin. "Although nagkaroon kami ng problema sa mga unforced errors namin."
Alinsunurin has also opted to keep Joshua Retamar and Nico Almendras out of this season's lineup to provide his younger players an opportunity to develop and gain exposure in the tournament organized by the Sports Vision Management Group Inc. and backed by Bola.TV, Beyond Active Wear, ASICS and Mikasa.
The NU mentor, meanwhile, left for Vietnam later in the day to join PVL team Choco Mucho for the VTV Cup. He will be out until Aug. 26 and will miss NU's games against UST on Aug. 23 and versus EAC on Aug. 25.
The Altas, on the other hand, pulled through despite the absence of star spiker Louie Ramirez as they proved steadier at the end of the first two extended sets before re-stamping their class late in the third to fashion out the straight-set victory.
Ramirez is in Japan for a three-week training camp with the V.League club team Oita Miyoshi.
But skipper JC Enarciso orchestrated his team's offense while Klint Mateo played a crucial role at endgame for the Altas.
"Sa game namin, siyempre NCAA rin yan, sabi ko nga sa mga bata, walang kampante. Dapat sigurista sila. At the end of the day, maganda naman nilaro nila," Altas head coach Sammy Acaylar said.
