The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) boys squad proved too hot to handle for the Abellana National School (ANS) last Sunday in the 1st M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Developmental Volleyball League for Boys and Girls at the University of San Carlos (USC)-Main Gym.
Interestingly, USPF was manned by former ANS players. Showing no mercy for their former alma mater, the USPF spikers slammed their ANS counterparts in straight sets, 25-9, 25-15, to open up their championship campaign on a bright note.
Before the game started, ANS coach Virgie Lopez could not contain her disappointment when she saw some of their former players already donning the USPF uniform.
Lopez, who is also an amateur boxing referee-coach, confronted coach Cecil Jotojot of USPF for allegedly pirating players anew from ANS, but the latter responded with a smile.
When the game began, the former ANS players were a bit distracted with Lopez calling them shameless, but they kept their focus to silence the chargers of Lopez.
Lopez felt so bad that instead of instructing her wards what to do, she kept on murmuring words against her former players as after all they did to them in honing their skills and helping them in school, they left them that saw the present ANS lineup so weak.
During the second set, an irate relative of a former ANS player went behind the bench of ANS and confronted Lopez of which the latter retaliated by slamming a monoblock chair.
The action was stopped for a while with the score stood at 12-5 in favor of USPF. Proverbial cooler heads prevailed in putting the situation under control.
Although Lopez was warned for her behavior, most of the technical officials understood clearly why she acted that way, saying that it’s not easy to be left by players especially that they did not ask for permission.
After the game, Jotojot denied “pirating” the players, explaining that those ANS players who are now under him were brought by their parents to attend their try-out.
Lopez, however, said it’s not the first time that USPF is doing it to ANS and other schools.
In the other games, the Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School boys and girls teams suffered contrasting fates. Its boys team survived a three-set battle against Cabancalan National High School, 7-25, 25-17, 25-22, but its girls bets fell prey to Camp Lapu-Lapu NHS, 17-25, 17-25.