CEBU, Philippines – The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Spiking Panthers caught one big fish as they overpowered defending champion University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) in straight sets to complete a five-game elimination round sweep in the men's division of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) volleyball tournament at the Aznar Coliseum.
In what was perceived by pundits as the finals preview, the large throng of spectators were treated of a very entertaining showdown between the undefeated squads.
In the first set, the two protagonists locked themselves up in an intense exchange of lightning attacks and solid defenses. When the smoke cleared, USPF prevailed af-ter two slides, 27-25.
In the second set, USJ-R of legendary coach Grace Antigua tried to bounce back behind the efforts of Khen Boyd Abunda, Leoniel Sanchez, Jesriel Pino and Kevin Ca-sia, but they fell short in the end as the USPF spikers were resilient enough in coasting to a 25-21 victory.
The wards of coach Joerem Yu did not tone down on all facets of the game to eventually finish off USJ-R in the third set, 25-20
Among those who figured prominently in USPF's resounding victory were Allan Caspillo, Jonrey Opone, and Edward Ybañez. They were heavily backed up by Jes-selito Moncado, Niño Rey Ymbong, Marlon Emmanuel Luces, Shane Gardoza, Winston Bagulor and Janssen Elento.
In the other games, the University of San Carlos (USC) improved its win-loss record to 4-1 after thrashing the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U), 26-24, 25-18, 25-14, while University of the Visayas (UV) also assured itself of a semifinal berth after pummeling Cebu Doctors' University (CDU) in dominating fashion, 25-14, 25-13, 25-15. (FREEMAN)