La Salle's Noel Kampton in action. PVL Media.
MANILA -- De La Salle University drew first blood in the finals of the V-League Men's Collegiate Challenge after a hard-earned victory over University of Santo Tomas, Wednesday night at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Green Spikers emerged triumphant in a see-saw affair, 25-21, 16-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-8. They remain the only team to have beaten the Golden Spikers in the preseason tournament.
They can sweep UST in Game 2 of the best-of-3 series on Friday.
"Since andito na kami, wala na kaming ibang pupuntahan. No looking back, just forward. Whatever happens, move forward," acting DLSU coach Jose Roque said.
Up by just two points, 8-6, at the changeover in the decider, De La Salle used a 6-0 blast to settle the outcome with Noel Kampton exploding for four of those attacks. The outside hitter eventually ended the match with a booming kill.
Kampton finished with a game-high 23 markers, 21 coming on attacks, while captain JM Ronquillo shone with 19 points that went with five digs.
Josh Ybañez led UST with 23 points while GBoy De Vega added 19 markers.