Warriors Volleyball

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Go Warriors! Go for the Back-to-back championship in CeSAFI men's volleyball

http://sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/200...s/rematch.html

AFTER failing to make it to the finals of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. volleyball competition last year, the men’s team of the University of San Jose-Recoletos is back on familiar grounds as it earned the right to challenge defending champion University of San Carlos in the finals tomorrow after winning their respective semifinals matches Sunday night at the USC gym.

USJ-R, the 2004-2005 champions, leaned on their veteran savvy to outclass University of the Visayas in straight sets, 25-19, 25-18, 25-16. USC, on the other hand, survived the gritty advances of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, whom USC needed four sets to oust.

The finals battle mirrors that of 2006, when USJ-R was the one gunning for a grandslam title and USC hampered it by winning the 2006 title. This time, the roles swapped with USC looking to be the first men’s team to win three straight titles, and USJ-R being the challenger.

“Anything could happen. As cliché as it may sound, the ball is round and anyone could win the title this year,” said USJ-R head coach Grace Antigua.

Antigua said she will be banking on her team’s solid teamwork for their bid to get back on the top of the heap. “As long as they continue to work together as a team then we could give USC a good fight,” said Antigua.

USC on the other hand, had to take a longer route to the final round as they needed four sets to get past last year’s runner-up, USPF, 26-24, 28-26, 15-25 and 25-23.

USPF put up a good fight taking the lead, 11-9, at the start of the game. However, behind the two-time MVP Roderick Arenasa, USC snatched the lead to their side, 21-18.

USPF came crawling back as team captain Erwin Inso initiated a 6-3 rally that tied the score 24-all, forcing for a slide. The set eventually went to USC, 26-24, behind the efforts of Kennith Bensig, Jerone Maestre and Dexter Tuazon.

The same scenario happened in the second set. After USPF set the tone with an early lead, things took a dramatic turn when USC snatched the driver’s seat, behind the furious rally of Bonvie Estrera,.

Estrera scored five straight points to widen USC’s lead. This was later erased when USPF’s Edward Ybañez, Michael Ryan Abut and John Paul Pabololot answered back with resounding attacks for the game to once more be tied at set-point.

Wake-up call

Jerone Maestre and Arenasa then stepped up for USC to win the set and take a 2-0 lead.

USPF was at the brink of an impending loss but they never ran out of determination as they took USC by surprise in the third set. Enjoying a two-set lead, USC relaxed
and allowed USPF’s Erwin Inso, Ybañez and Ramil Espinosa to hammer them with impossible shots that extended the game to fourth set.

This jolted USC back to life and opened the fourth set with more grit to saunter off to a 16-9 lead. USPF managed to move to within a point, 22-23, but two straight errors from their side eventually gave USC the ticket to the finals. (MCB)

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8th CESAFI volleyball: USC, USJ-R in men’s final anew
By Marigold P. Lebumfacil
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Back-to-back champion University of San Carlos (USC) and the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) booked another championship date after trouncing their respective rivals in the men’s semifinals action of the 8th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) volleyball tournament the other day at the USC gym.

The USC Spiking Warriors outclassed USPF in four sets, 3-1, while USJ-R swept the University of the Visayas (UV), 3-0, to take another crack at the coveted title held by the Carolinians for two years now.

The first set saw USPF leading by two, 11-9, but back-to-back CESAFI MVP Roderick Arenasa and Kennith Bensig sparked a spirited rally to put USC on top, 21-18, for good.

Behind the efforts of team captain Erwin Inso, USPF tied the score at 24-all, but the triumvirate of Dexter Tuazon, Jerone Maestre and Bonvie Estrera put their acts together in scoring two straight points to seal the wifor USC, 26-24.

In the second set, USPF again took the early lead but Estrera charged back to give USC a 12-9 edge. As Carolinians maintained a 24-21 lead, Edward Ybañez, Michael Ryan Abut and John Paul Pabololot countered with a 3-0 run to knot the count at 24-all.

The last deadlock stood at 26-all as Maestre and Arenasa drilled in power attacks to wrap up the set, 28-26, and give USC a commanding 2-0 advantage.

After being pushed to the limit in the first two sets, USC toned down offensively, allowing USPF to fire back in the third set in dominating fashion, 25-15, thanks to the sterling performances of Inso, Ybañez and Ramil Espinosa.

The Norvie Labuga-mentored USC shot back to life in the second set where they raced to a sizzling 16-9 start. Ybañez and Inso of USPF fought back to close the gap down to just a hairline, 22-23. However, two successive service errors by Abut and Ybañez brought heavy damage to USPF, allowing USC to go for the kill, 25-23.

Former USC Vice President for Finance Fr. Vic L. Uy, SVD, who now serves as the first Philippine Sports Commissioner from Cebu, proved to be the Carolinians’ lucky charm. Fr. Uy was at the sidelines acting as USC’s chief cheerleader and his presence worked wonders for the team especially when the game was on the line.

“I am hoping that they would bag the grandslam title this year because so far I could see that the players were really trying their best to show and give pride and honor to USC,” said Uy.

In the other men’s semis duel, the undefeated USJ-R of Cebu Sports Hall of Famer coach Grace Antigua were unstoppable in claiming a final ticket with a 25-19, 25-18, 25-16 dumping of UV.

The formidable star players of USJ-R composed of team captain Jacky Yrog-irog, Ken Abunda, Louijie Tipgos, Jesriel Pino, Leoniel Sanchez and Ariel Carumba vaulted the Spiking Jaguars to an easy victory.

The title matches as well as the battle for third place in both divisions will be contested tomorrow starting at 1 pm still at the USC-Main gym.

http://philstar.com/index.php?Sports...id=20081020159