Ateneo celebrates a point against University of Southern Philippines Foundation during their match in the Cebu leg of the 2025 SSL National Invitationals, August 22, 2025 at the Mandaue Sports Complex in Mandaue City, Cebu. Handout/SSL
MANILA -- Ateneo de Manila University had to dig deep before claiming a four-set victory over University of Southern Philippines Foundation in their first game of the 2025 Shakey's Super League (SSL) National Invitationals Cebu Leg, Friday at the Mandaue Sports Complex in Mandaue City.
The Blue Eagles overcame a shaky, error-strewn performance on their way to a 29-27, 25-20, 24-26, 25-14 result.
They banked on Zey Pacia, Rob Silla and Faye Nisperos in a strong fourth set bounce back following a third frame meltdown to silence the home team in the tournament.
Pacia finished with 13 points coming off nine kills, two kill blocks and two aces for the Blue Eagles, who will face University of San Carlos on Saturday in Day 2 of the competition. Silla added 12 markers while Nisperos smashed 10 spikes with one ace and a kill block for a 12-point effort for the rebuilding Ateneo.
Ateneo head coach Sergio Veloso lauded his young crew for its patience and composure despite the tough challenge given by the pesky Lady Panthers.
"We have a lot of rookies and it's a new system. They need to know how to play in this situation. You have the fans, you have an opponent and you have to feel this kind of pressure," the Brazilian mentor said.
Veloso, however, admitted that Ateneo needs to do better in controlling its errors after throwing away 33 points off miscues.
"It's so different in practice. I know my team in practice but they need to know they can perform the same in the match. It is the most important thing for us."
The Blue Eagles pulled away midway into the fourth frame and built an 18-10 gap that broke the Lady Panthers' will to fight.
USPF refused to go down without a fight in the third set, which it controlled early by erecting a six-point lead, coming back from 22-24 down with a closing 4-0 blast to extend the match.
Ateneo wasted three set point advantages in the extended opening frame before Pacia sealed the set win with a kill following a service error by the Lady Panthers.
Angelica Salvador paced USPF with a game-high 17 points anchored on 16 kills while Cherish Dayame scored 13 markers. Katrina Inot and Juciel Nadera got seven points each.
The Lady Panthers look to bounce back against Adamson University on Saturday.