Following his record-setting 55-point performance, Marck Espejo unleashed 37 points and 10 digs to power the Ateneo Blue Eagles back to the championship stage.
The four-peat seeking Blue Eagles advanced to the finals for the fifth straight year after overcoming a twice-to-beat disadvantage against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the Final Four of UAAP Season 80 men's volleyball tournament.
Ateneo knocked out FEU with a 25-19, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18 victory on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre to keep its title defense alive.
"The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. Twice-to-beat, twice we got it," head coach Oliver Almadro said about surviving a couple of do-or-die games in the semifinals.
The Ateneo mentor went on to share his players' desire to salvage this season's campaign.
"The players really sacrificed a lot. They studied each of their opponents. They really wanted it, my players really wanted this. They said last night, 'Coach, we will never back down'," Almadro narrated. "They were all out today. I thank them because they believe in the process of just doing it right. It doesn't have to be spectacular, just right execution."
Ron Medalla, Karl Baysa, and Chumason Njigha, who combined for 24 markers, contributed timely hits to provide support to the unstoppable Espejo. Veteran playmaker Ish Polvorosa tallied 40 excellent sets.
After surviving a thrilling five-setter last time, the Blue Eagles aggressively opened Game 2 to draw first blood. The Tamaraws took advantage of Ateneo's errors in the second period to recover and tie the contest.
The defending champions regained control in the third frame, pulling away at 17-14 before FEU climbed back to force a deadlock at 18. Espejo took over to put Ateneo back on top, scoring six of the team's last seven points that bagged the set.
The Katipunan squad pounded on the hapless Tamaraws in Set 4, rounding up the battle with a more comfortable triumph.
With this win, Ateneo set a championship duel with the National University Bulldogs for the fifth season in a row.
"It's probably my fate to have them as opponents. I can say that they are really the strongest team here in the UAAP in recruitment, manpower, materials. They are tough. But as I said, great teams will push us forward," said Almadro about facing the top-seeded NU.
"We will be ready, we will be inspired to do more. We will do our best, we will better our best," he promised.
The finals series will start on Saturday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.