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Friday, September 22, 2006
USJ-R teams book finals slots
By Marian C. Baring
Sun.Star Correspondent
Defending champions University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) men's and women's teams booked finals berths in the Cesafi volleyball event, after winning their semifinal matches in contrasting fashion yesterday at the University of San Carlos Gym.
As the ladies team sailed to the final round with an easy three-set trouncing of USC---25-13, 25-16, 25-7, the USJ-R men's team had to pass through the eye of the needle to survive the gritty University of the Visayas (UV) spiking Lancers in five sets---18-25, 18-25, 25-20, 27-25, 15-9.
The USJ-R men’s team will clash with USC in the finals.
The final round of the distaff side is a repeat of last year's, as USJ-R and the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) renew their rivalry today.
USPF advanced to the title round after defeating Southwestern University, 25-15, 26-24, 25-23.
In the men’s division, USJ-R had to overhaul a huge deficit as the Green Lancers surprised the defending champions with aggressiveness in the first and second sets, to build up an almost insurmountable 2-0 advantage over USJ-R.
USJ-R clawed back, claiming the next three sets for the win.
"Kaingun nako ug mao nato, mapildi na gyud mi (I thought we were going to lose)," USJ-R head coach Grace Antigua said after the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) semis game.
UV opened the crucial deciding set with back to back points off miscommunication from USJ-R's end.
This forced Antigua to put in Abulaiz Sulaiman, who went on to score seven straight points off his serves for USJ-R to take the driver's seat for good.
"Naunhan man gud mi pag first set. That gave my players the jitters (They struck first)," she said.
Today’s final round will be marked with a couple of historic firsts.
This is the first time that USC has entered the Cesafi final. It is also the first time that Antigua and her former player and assistant coach Norvie Labuga take on different sides of the court in a championship game.
USC pulled a hard earned five-set victory over last year's runner up USPF, 20-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13, to earn the other ticket to the finals.
USC's win was courtesy of Roderick Arenasa who scored the bulk of the team's points in the penultimate round.
Labuga said that he is very happy to have entered the finals.
"I am happy that I did not disappoint USC because it is my first time to coach the team and yet we made it this far," he said.
Antigua for her part, who approached to congratulate Labuga after the game, felt only pride for her former star player.
"I am so proud and happy for him," she said.
Though she has been on this road before, Antigua said that today's final is not going to be a walk in the park for USJ-R.
"We were almost clobbered, so we could not say for sure what will happen today," she said.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 22, 2006 issue)
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