CEBU, Philippines - Municipal cluster defending champion, Catmon and their male counterparts reigned supreme in the Cluster V’s women and men’s divisions in the 5th Governor Gwen Garcia Unity Volleyball (GUV) Cup last Sunday at their home court — the Catmon Sports Complex.
The Vilma Veloso-mentored Catmon claimed its 4th cluster championship title after posting a 4-0 slate.
The team beat Borbon, 25-7, 25-9; San Francisco, 25-5, 25-4; and Pilar 25-3, 25-8 before facing the tough Sogod team and dropping them 25-17, 25-23.
Catmon took the first set, 25-17, but went ice cold in the second set, which saw Sogod took control in the middle part of the action.
Catmon gradually recovered from the advantage and was able to make their powerful plays to get the match point advantage, 24-23. It was a close fight for both teams, but Catmon’s key player and GUV Cup Most Valuable Player Cherry Petalcorin made the final kill, which sealed the match at 25-23.
Palarong Pambansa medalists Methosheena Bate, Athena Sucalit, Catherine Marquez, Lanie Silvestre and Jerymie Montalvo and two members of the reigning Palaro champion team, Gretchel Soltones and Cristy Sucalit were also significant in helping Catmon win.
“We’re glad that we succeed in our encounter against our cluster opponents and be given the chance to defend our title this year. We will do our very best to get the crown again but we not complacent because we will be facing tough opposition this year against other municipal cluster champions,” said Bate, who was GUV Cup’s Best Attacker last year.
“Their performances were okay but it was very visible during the game that the girls lack practice. I was not quite contented with their performance because of that reason since I found it hard to gather all the girls because some have prior commitments in their respective institutions,” said Veloso, a three-time Palaro best coach and two-time GUV Cup coach of the year.
“We still need to work on the teamwork in order for us to get into the championships and it’s very fulfilling if they could defend the title. So, we need to condition our mind, heart and body for another exciting championship battle next month,” Veloso added.
In the men’s bracket, the Catmon spikers made a clean 3-0 sweep after thumping Carmen 25-17, 25-17, San Francisco 25-16, 25-17 and Poro 25-16, 25-17 to snatch the top post.
Meanwhile, Sogod took the women’s second place after registering 3-1 win-loss record against Borbon 25-14, 25-23, San Francisco 25-14, 25-10 and Pilar via default while Carmen also qualified for a semi-final seat in the men’s side after occupying the second place routing San Francisco 25-16, 25-17 and Poro 25-6, 25-23.
Exciting volleyball action will be seen as Lilo-an vies to defend its women’s tiara in the Cluster VI matches on Saturday in Compostela Sports Complex in Compostela, Cebu. – THE FREEMAN