University of the East finally snapped an agonizing 23-game losing streak with a dramatic 25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 30-32,15-12 win over Adamson in the UAAP Season 88 men’s volleyball at Mall of Asia Arena Saturday, Feb. 21.
Aiming to cut their string of losses that started nearly two years ago, the Red Warriors held their ground and bested theFalcons for their first-ever win in the men’s side first round of Season 86 on March 17, 2024.
Before this long stretch marked by a winless Season 87, UE’s last victory came in a 25-21, 19-25, 28-30, 27-25, 15-12 triumph over the University of the Philippines during Season 86’s first round on March 17, 2024.
For assistant coach Jumbo Dimaculangan, the win is proof that UE is making progress despite being one of the youngest teams in the tournament with eight rookies.
“To be honest ang sarap manalo ulit dito sa UAAP… I would say we have a very young team now and the rookies that we have, they are not prized recruits pero mas naniniwala kami na once we see a potential sa player, we try to develop them,” said Dimaculangan.
“Kailangan namin trabahuhin kung anong meron kami and we’re happy with this result kasi after two seasons, uy may resulta, and that’s more enough for us para ipagpatuloy,” he added.
The Soaring Falcons grabbed an early 7-5 lead in the deciding set, but the Red Warriors responded with four straight points, powered by Raquim Aceron and CJ Nabora’s back-to-back hits, along with two Adamson errors, to take a 9-7 advantage.
Nabora, who finished with 17 points on 15 spikes and two blocks, along with 13 receptions and seven digs, sealed the win with an off-the-block kill, giving UE its first victory in three games after two hours and 26 minutes.
Sophomore spiker Raquim Aceron led UE with 24 points and 21 excellent receptions, while rookie Mark Lee Budias contributed an impressive 16 points.
The Red Warriors also turned the Falcons’ 23-block effort into a 73-63 advantage in spikes, creating a tie for fourth place with identical 1-2 records in the standings.
Rookie Jims Ducusin paced Adamson with 24 points, followed by Richard Besorio with 17 points—nine of which came via blocks. Besorio’s nine blocks marked the most by any men’s volleyball player since NU’s Obed Mukaba also recorded nine in a five-set win over UE on March 12, 2023.
UE will look to build on this momentum next Saturday when it faces the University of Santo Tomas at its Quadricentennial Pavilion, while Adamson will have a week to regroup before facing Far Eastern University on March 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
