La Salle struggles past Letran in
V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge . PVL photo
La Salle outlasts Letran
LA Salle kicked off its title-retention campaign in the V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge with a hard-fought 25-19, 27-25, 28-26 victory over a tough Letran side at the Paco Arena Sunday.
Ateneo, adhered to the plan with determination and focus, dispatched Emilio Aguinaldo College, 25-13, 25-23, 25-22, to give interim coach Vince Mangulabnan a winning start.
The Green Spikers, who lost several key players led by JM Ronquillo who opted to play club volleyball, turned to Chris Hernandez, who scored 14 points on 11-of-22 kills, fired two service aces, and had seven receptions. Team captain-libero Menard Guerrero anchored the defense with 15 receptions and 10 digs.
“Kailangan i-defend yung title namin, pero hindi iyon yung tinutukan namin. Sinasabi ko lang, whoever yung katapat nila, make sure na they respect them, kasi third-ranked din sa NCAA yan,” said La Salle head coach Jose Roque.
Nigeria’s Aimar Okeke spearheaded the Blue Eagles’ charge with 17 points, built on 11-of-24 attacks, four service aces and two blocks, and collected six digs. Key holdovers Jian Salarzon and Ken Batas also contributed with nine and eight points, respectively.
“Sumunod lang naman yung mga players sa new system. Wala ako masyado ini-expect kasi alam ko sa game na ito, magkakaroon kami ng maraming unforced errors, pero dahil sumusunod lang sila talaga sia gusto ko mangyari,” said Mangulabnan.
