USC draws first blood in Cesafi boys’ volley finals

The University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors battled back from being down two sets to fashion out a come-from-behind win over the mighty Southwestern University ( SWU-Phinma) Baby Cobras, 20-25, 22-25, 25-22, 2516, 15-10, in Game 1 of the Cebu Schools Athletic Association (Cesafi) boys’ volleyball tournament best-of-three finals at the USC gym yesterday.

The Baby Warriors figured out the Baby Cobras for the first time this season to draw first blood in their best-of-three finals duel. The Baby Warriors needed a strong run but claimed the last three sets to erase the 0-2 deficit.

“Just keep on fighting. We’ve been down in the game also before,” USC coach Jonrey Sasing told his wards, when they were trailing two sets in the game.

With their backs against the wall and down 0-2 against the Baby Cobras, the Warriors fought back behind the attacks of Gwyndharell Guy and Kennry Malinis, whose strong kills sealed the third set, 25-22.

The Baby Warriors continued to play hard in the fourth set as they put up an 11-1 run capped by the attacks of John Paul Lumen and Vincent Jericho Lauron to take a 22-14 lead.

SWU-Phinma answered with two straight points before USC closed the set with three consecutive points, 25-16.

In the deciding set, the Baby Warriors showed no signs of fatigue as they zoomed to a 10-4 lead after Lumen’s back-to-back hit.

SWU-Phinma had a 4-2 run spearheaded by Christian Rey Rom and Marc Dave Villaflor to bring down the lead to four, 6-10.

Guy was there to save the day for USC as he scored two straight emphatic hits for a match point before John Rey Sanico scored a beautiful drop shot that sent the home crowd to celebration.

“In our practices we emphasize the stamina of the players. We really prepare for a five-set game. This was our first win against SWU-Phinma this season, I credited it to the stamina of my players,” said Sasing.

The Baby Warriors will shoot for the title, while the SWU-Phinma will try to avoid elimination when they face each other for Game 2 today at the same venue.

As of press time, the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) and SWU Baby Cobras were playing in the Game 1 of the girls’ division finals.