Injured UC volleyball player out for rest of CESAFI season

CEBU, Philippines – It could have been a good season for the revitalized University of Cebu (UC) men's team but losing one of its best players due to an unexpected incident might cripple their title campaign in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) volleyball tournament.

UC's open and angle spiker Rico Ramirez could no longer play for the rest of the CESAFI season after sustaining an injury during their match against the University of the Visayas (UV) the other day at the Aznar Coliseum. UV won via a four-set thriller.

Ramirez's left little finger was broken after not being in a good position while blocking the powerful attack of UV's James Ylanan early in the second set.

Ramirez was then rushed to St. Vincent Hospital where he underwent surgery. He was advised by the doctor to rest from four to six months.

"I did not expect that this would happen because I'm in good condition. I'm sad because I could not play anymore this season but I am confident that my teammates will perform well in their games," said Ramirez.

UC won the first set, 25-22, courtesy of Ramirez, Edryl Simeon, Reynante Reyes, Louie Espina and Jovanni Guttierez.

In the second set when the score stood at 5-all, Ramirez tried to block Ylanan's spike but was injured in the process. It took them 15 deadlocks before UV claimed the season set 28-26.

From thereon, UC was not able to recover as UV of coach Benjie Arreglo made it all the way to the finish, 25-18, 25-20.

In the other matches, men's defending champion University of San Jose-Recoletos coasted to its second straight victory at the expense of Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U), 25-15, 25-16, 25-11, while the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) joined the winners' circle after thrashing the Cebu Doctors' University (CDU), 25-10, 25-17, 25-11. (FREEMAN)