Umingan boys pull off shocker in PNVF U-18 Championships
Who would have thought a bunch of boys from the municipality of Umingan, Pangasinan, who’ve never felt the action in the big city, would emerge champions of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-18 Championships last Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum?
And that their coach never played competitive volleyball at all but instead teaches math and ran the 100, 200 and 400 meters in his elementary and high school days while representing the Pangasinan town?
“It’s tough, too tough, we’ve gone through much challenges,” said an ecstatic Eusebio Solis moments after he coached his team to a pulsating 25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 25-17, 16-14 come-frombehind win over VNS-Savouge for the boys’ crown.
“But we proved something with this victory, that we, provincial teams, could stay in stride or even beat the strong teams from the big city,” added Solis.
The victorious squad, all students of the town’s national high school and supported by their parents and Mayor Michael Cruz, are on their way to the Palarong Pambansa nationals in Cebu in July.
They traveled all the way from Cebu by plane to catch their 5:30 p.m. semifinals against Canossa Academy of Lipa City at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and went on to clinch the ticket to the final.
“We got to Rizal Memorial at 3:30 p.m., enough for the team to recover and prepare for the semifinals,” Solis said.
University of Santo Tomas (UST), meanwhile, defeated National University, 25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 2523, to capture the girls’ crown in the all-UAAP finale.
Kimberly Rubin led UST to the win and claimed the girls’ Most Valuable Player trophy alongside the boys’ best player, Umingan’s Michael Angelo Fernandez, also the First Best Open Hitter awardee.