The University of Perpetual Help System DALTA continued its resurgence in the NCAA Season 101 men’s volleyball tournament after escaping Emilio Aguinaldo College with a 25-16, 9-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-11 win on Saturday.
The ALTAs, who encountered a shaky start after losing back-to-back games to Benilde and JRU, have now improved to 3-2 in Group A while also ending Generals’ three-game winning streak as EAC fell to a similar 3-2 card in Group B.
The rookie-laden Perpetual displayed composure in the endgame, breaking a 7-all deadlock by unleashing a 3-0 rampage capped by a Jester Bornel rejection on Jan Ruther Abor’s backrow kill to bring the Las Piñas crew to a pivotal 10-7 cushion.
The Generals, who were coming off a morale-boosting five-set win over defending champion Arellano University last Wednesday, then responded with a 2-0 swing.
Abor hit one from the back before Mark Palatino’s kill from the left wing saw EAC trimming the gap to one, 9-10.
However, Perpetual found the finishing blow to close EAC out.
Khian Andres unloaded two hammers in a row while setter Klint Mateo punished the Generals with a one-two kill to bring them to a 13-10 lead.
Dexter Arrozado then provided the last two points, going off the block before squeezing it through the blockers to help Perpetual complete the comeback victory.
Marc Tangon led the offense with 16 points and 17 receptions while Bornel and Andres both churned out 13 markers. Perpetual also got huge contributions from the rest of the crew with Arrozado, Arky Corpuz, and Mateo all chipping eight points each.
The loss spoiled yet another explosive outing from Abor, who erupted for 30 points in the five-set thriller as he now recorded his third 30-point performance.
Abor previously dropped 36 points against Arellano and 32 markers against LPU, both of which saw EAC come out on top.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
