Saturday, December 08, 2007 Defending champs stake titles in semis bids today
THE University of San Jose Recoletos Spiking Lady Jaguars and University of San Carlos Spiking Warriors, defending men’s and women’s champions respectively of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc volleyball competition, will step up their bids to retain the crown as the penultimate round fires off today at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation gym.
USJ-R, which is gunning for an elusive grand slam title in the women’s contest, is expected to sail through an easy semifinals when they take on USC women’s team in the 8 a.m. curtain raiser.
Other matches
The USC squad needs to find an answer to the tenacity of the formidable USJ-R squad of coach Grace Antigua, which is led by reigning MVP Genie Sabas with team captain Julett Mae Marikit.
The other semis schedule pits Southwestern University and last year’s runner up USPF. SWU is now coached by Janeth Ponte, who steered SWU to multiple titles during her team captain days.
Ponte said they will have a hard time in trying to take down USPF but she hopes that they can pull through as SWU is hoping to again dominate volleyball, a sport recently dominated by USJ-R.
“We will be gasping for air for sure because USPF is a tough team. I hope my players will survive,” Ponte said.
Men’s games
In the men’s side, USC recently survived a scare over USPF in a five-setter last week. Team captain and reigning MVP Roderick Arenasa proved in that game that he is the team’s backbone as he stepped up during the crucial stretch.
Arenasa and partner Carlo Tecson need to put their best foot forward when they take on a strong University of the Visayas in the men’s semis this afternoon.
Meanwhile, another team hoping to improve on their finish last year is the USJ-R men’s team, which will take on USPF in today’s semis.
Last year, USJ-R, like their women counterparts, aimed for a grand slam but USC came in their way during the final round. USJ-R entered the semifinals with a spotless 3-0 win-loss record and was steered by an unlikely figure in newbie Louijie Tipgos. (MCB)
