Ateneo’s Sobe Buena is down on the ground after suffering a knee injury during a loss to UST in UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Spiker Sobe Buena became the newest Ateneo player to go down with a significant injury within the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
In keeping with Blue Eagles coach Sergio Veloso, Buena suffered a tear in her right ACL in a loss to University of Santo Tomas last Sunday and is prone to miss the remainder of the season.
“These sorts of injuries, my philosophy is to stop first and it is advisable to consider the player. And for this season, I cannot say 100% but I cannot use Sobe and JLo (Delos Santos) too since it’s a knee [injury],” said Veloso after a 15-25, 14-25, 25-20, 19-25 setback by the hands of La Salle on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: UAAP: Ateneo-La Salle rivalry not the identical since Alyssa Valdez left–RDJ
Ateneo coach Sergio Veloso gives an update about Sobe Buena’s injury after the spiker missed their game against La Salle. #UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/7rVuC6EKQz
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) March 12, 2025
Buena joined Zel Tsunashima and JLo Delos Santos on the Blue Eagles’ injury list. Delos Santos suffered a season-ending knee injury within the team’s final practice before the season opener while Tsunashima, who has also been ruled out for the season, sustained a gruesome shin injury on opening day against Adamson last month.
Before the injury, Buena has been a consistent scorer for Ateneo with a complete of 36 points on 32 attacks, two blocks, and two aces in five games.
Despite Ateneo dropping five of its first six games, Veloso was happy with the Blue Eagles’ fight against a formidable Lady Spikers’ side.
“You’ll be able to see this today, La Salle is a robust team, they’ve strong hitters, and our team played in the identical level. The match today is match, like against UST it was a excellent match, too,” said the Brazilian mentor.
READ: UAAP: Ateneo lose two key cogs to season-ending injuries
“Last season, it’s just a little similar, our first round will not be so good but after that our team go up. It’s the identical as today, I played three to 4 beginners, it’s their first season… But I’m so happy with the players because whenever you look the sets, it’s 15, 16, whenever you think it’s easy, it’s difficult, our team pushed rather a lot La Salle, La Salle needed to play hard.”
Lyann De Guzman and AC Miner paced the short-handed Blue Eagles with 16 and 13 points, respectively. But Veloso also lauded his whole crew for stepping up, including Zey Pacia, who had six points.
It could be a troublesome first round for Ateneo, but Veloso urges the Blue Eagles to maintain fighting as they battle winless University of the East on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I told my players: okay it is advisable to improve your techniques because if you’ve technique, and you need to play at a high level, these little things could make a giant difference,” he said.
