Catmon, Liloan assured of semifinal berths in GUV Cup

CEBU, Philippines - The mighty Catmon belles further bolstered their title retention campaign after cruising to their fourth straight win in as many starts that ensured them of a semifinals berth in the municipal cluster of the 5th Governor Gwen Garcia Unity Volleyball (GUV) Cup yesterday at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) grounds.

The wards of Vilma Veloso claimed Dalaguete as their latest victim, 25-2, 25-11, to secure the top spot in women's bracket A with an unblemished 4-0 record.

As usual, the likes of Methosheena Bate, Athena Sucalit, Catherine Marquez, Lanie Silvestre, Jerymie Montalvo, Gretchel Soltones and Cristy Sucalit catapulted Catmon to another lopsided victory.

In bracket B, Liloan is wreaking havoc with a clean 3-0 slate following its 25-18, 25-17 disposition of Barili.

Breathing down Liloan's neck is Sta. Fe with a 3-1 win-loss record. Sta. Fe whipped Tuburan 25-20, 25-19 in its previous assignment.        

Minglanilla, on the other hand, stomped Boljoon, 25-5, 25-4, while Badian finally barged into the win column at the expense of Tuburan, 24-26, 25-14, 25-14.

In the men’s bracket, Liloan pounded Tuburan, 25-10, 25-12 to keep its unbeaten record intact at 3-0.

The Ondo Mosqueda-mentored Liloan is manned by former USPF stalwarts Angellan Visoc, Clifford Café, Maynard Alijandrino and James Ryan Rivera and University of San Jose-Recoletos team captain Jackie Yrog-irog.

Like Liloan, Catmon remained undefeated with a 25-0, 25-17 thrashing of Carmen. The first set was decided to be an automatic win for Catmon as Carmen commited an infraction of tournament rules by fielding in its libero in the first six instead of a regular player.

Moalboal, Minglanilla and Compostela also coasted to an impressive 2-0 start. Moalboal outsmarted Dalaguete, 25-21, 25-23 while Compostela outlasted Barili, 25-22, 25-14.

The top two teams in each bracket will march into the semifinal round, which will be contested this Saturday at the same venue. The survivors will then play for the P100,000 cash prize in the championship games on Sunday.

Mandaue and Talisay are leading the cast in the city cluster in both divisions. Games in the city cluster feature Mandaue against Carcar and Talisay versus Danao in the women’s bracketn and Talisay opposite Carcar and Mandaue against Toledo in the men's side.— Marigold P. Lebumfacil   (FREEMAN NEWS)