The M. Lhuillier Sports Development Foundation (MLSDF) All-Stars bravely came back from a set down twice to vanquish the very game Tacloban City Volleyball Club (TCVC) belles, 4-1, in a five-set thriller to clinch the women’s title of the 7th Maasin City Charter Day Open and Invitational Volleyball Tournament last Sunday at the full-packed Maasin City Gym.
Just like in their first encounter during the elimination round, the Tacloban women raided the first set, 25-23, behind the relentless attacks of former RP Team players Michelle Laborte and Michelle Carolino.
However, the MLSDF All-Stars of coach Henjie Tomalis and Norvie “Making” Labuga quickly made the necessary adjustments and bounced back with aplomb to silence Tacloban in the second set, 25-14.
Egged on by the cheers of MLSDF executive director Eddie B. Ybañez at the sidelines, the Cebuano visitors kept their high-octane offense and excellent defense to demolish Tacloban in the third set, 25-10, and take a two sets to one advantage.
Still, the Tacloban bets refused to roll down and just die, conjuring all the strength they could muster to edge out the MLSDF stars but not after going through three slides, 28-26, in the fourth frame to forge a deciding set that kept the mammoth crowd holding on their breath.
Banking on the smart plays of Mechelle Matuguina, Kennette Garces, Joren Sanchez, Jusabelle Brillo, and Marissa Lagancia, the MLSDF All-Stars tamed Tacloban in all facet of the game in the fifth set on the way to a convincing 15-9 victory.
“I commend my players for their great fighting spirit. They did not give in to pressure and they fought with a lot of heart. They really deserved this championship,” said Ybañez, who accompanied the team to give them the needed morale-booster in their Maasin sojourn.
The MLSDF All-Stars, who bagged their first major crown via three-game sweep, took home P15,000, while Tacloban pocketed P10,000. Another Cebu contender, the Southwestern University (SWU) Spiking Cobras of coach Janeth Ponte, got P7,000 for lifting the third place trophy.
“I think the key to our victory is our defense. We were able to anticipate their plays and parried them with decisive double blocking. Also, we executed well the instructions of out coaches,” said MLSDF team captain Mechelle Matuguina, a former member of two-time CESAFI volleyball champion team University of San Jose-Recoletos (2001 and 2006).
“More importantly, we played as a team and our collective efforts spurred us to triumph,” added Matuguina, who, together with partner Jullett Marikit, settled for first runner-up honors in last year’s Nestea Beach Volley Season 10 in Boracay Island. (EBV)