Thursday, December 20, 2007 Lilo-an, Sta. Fe top group in GUV Cup
LILO-AN and Santa Fe assured themselves of slots to the semifinal round of the third Governor Gwen Garcia Unity Volleyball Cup for Women following their emphatic wins in the quarterfinals yesterday at the Mandaue City Sports Complex.
Lilo-an wasted no time in disposing off Balamban in two sets, 25-15, 25-8, to sail through its fourth straight victory and lead bracket A with a clean slate.
In the game, Lilo-an, powered by Arlene Maloloy-on and Susana Yuson, refused to give their opponents an opportunity to extend the game as they surged to a 20-6 lead, which eventually sealed the match’s outcome.
Deadlock
Lilo-an is figured in a deadlock with Santa Fe with identical 4-0 slates. The two teams square off today to determine the No. 1 team. Only the top two teams will advance to the semifinal round which will be held at the Cebu International Convention Center and whatever the outcome, the two are already assured of semis slots. Santa Fe, paced by Danalie Baquiro, Luilyn Pacino and Hannamae Sevilla, formalized their entry to the semis with a win against Sogod the other day and Oslob yesterday.
Meanwhile, Minglanilla had to move heaven and earth in order to be assured of a semis seat. Led by its main gunners Janice Sellon and Vanessa Juezan, Minglanilla overhauled a first set loss to beat Badian, 22-25, 25-13, 25-16.
Minglanilla has a 3-0 win-loss record and is tied with Catmon with the same slate at the top of the Bracket B.
Also yesterday, Balamban notched its second win in the competition after defeating Sibonga, 25-16, 25-22.
Sogod, on the other hand, completed a graceful exit managing to barge into the win column after an exciting battle against Oslob, , 18-25, 26-24, 25-18.
The remaining matches will be played today still at the same venue.
Meanwhile, Cebu Volleyball Association staff will be going to the CICC to prepare the venue for the crossover semis of both city and provincial clusters on Saturday.
Taraflex mats, the ones used in international competition, will be installed in the playing venue at the CICC, which is a first for local amateur competitions here in the country.
Ceva official Nona Catipay said this is the first time that organizers, in this case, the Cebu province, did this much for a volleyball competition.
“This just goes out to show how important this competition is to the governor,” Catipay said.
P100,000 cash prize goes out to the city and provincial winners. (MCB)
