CEBU, Philippines – The Ave Maria Sanctuary Park-backed University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) overcame a five-set thriller against the gritty Land Transportation Office (LTO) spikers to bag the inaugural championship of the Estaca Men’s Open volleyball tournament recently in Compostela, Cebu .
The Spiking Jaguars handily won the first set, 25-19, but the LTO bets bounced back in the second set in dominating fashion, 25-14.
Again, USJ-R made the necessary adjustments to steal the third set, 25-20, and take a 2-1 lead.
However, the LTO wards put up a valiant stand to win the fourth set by the skin of their teeth, 33-31, thus, the rubbermatch.
The two protagonists figured anew in a suspense-filled battle in the decider but when the dust settled, USJ-R had the last laugh via a super close 20-18 decision.
At the cornerstone of USJ-R’s breath-taking triumph were reigning Nestea Fit Beach Volley national champion Ariel Carumba and Loujei Tipgos. They were ably backed up by Jacky Yrog-rog, Ken Abunda, Dave Aresa, Kevin Casia, and Jason Uy.
“This is a good preparation for us in the upcoming CESAFI season. We were so privileged that we were able to compete against hard-hitting teams like LTO. We all knew from the start that they were the strongest team, but we were just so lucky that we all cooperated to achieve our goal and that is to win against all odds,” said Carumba.
The LTO squad of Edgar Catarungan and Aden Belza was composed of a formidable cast in the mold of Jonrey Sasing, Norvie Labuga, Cliffors Café, Angellan Visoc, James Ryan Rivera, Ronald Melencion, Roy Ulan and John Abas.In the battle for third place, John Patrick Caylo (JPC) pummeled the University of San Carlos (USC) in straight sets, 25-16, 25-23, 25-16.
Aside from trophies and medals, the champion pocketed P5, 000, while the second and third placers went home with P3, 000 and P2, 000, respectively.
Organized by Jessie Yungco, the event was among the highlights of the annual fiesta celebration of Barangay Estaca in honor of its beloved patroness Santisima Trinidad. — Marigold P. Lebumfacil (THE FREEMAN)