Mapua University faced tough resistance from a short-handed Emilio Aguinaldo College, but still emerged on top with a 25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23 win to remain immaculate in the NCAA Season 100 men's volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Cardinals nearly wasted a huge early lead in the fourth set but steady offense from veterans Barbie San Andres and Arjay Ramos spelled the difference as they cruised to a 10-0 card.
The Generals, who were missing the services of league's sixth best scorer in Jan Ruther Abor, fell to a 3-7 win-loss record.
Mapua broke a 9-all deadlock in the fourth frame with middle blockers Adrian Musni and Ramil Gripo conniving to fuel a 7-1 rampage that allowed the unbeaten Cardinals to take a pivotal 16-10 lead.
EAC, however, resisted with Frelwin Taculog and Kenneth Batiancila cutting the deficit to four before the former unleashed a backrow attack to further trim the disadvantage to three at 20-23.
Another Taculog kill and a net error from Mapua had EAC slicing the gap to a solitary point at 23-24, forcing the Cardinals to call for a timeout. After regrouping and designing a final play, Mapua turned to Ramos as the senior outside spiker soared from the pipe to finish it off.
Ramos posted a team-high 26 points together with 11 digs while San Andres chipped in 19 markers. Lefty opposite hitter Saint Marlowe Jamisola added 10 points and nine receptions to help maintain their clean record.
Over in EAC, Taculog and Joshua Olivo stepped up in the absence of Abor, churning out 18 and 17 points respectively. Taculog added 14 receptions while Olivo grabbed 10 digs in the losing effort.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
