THE University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Spiking Panthers grabbed the top seed heading to the semifinals after they outlasted the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Spiking Jaguars in a thrilling five-setter at the close of the elimination round in the 2013 Cesafi volleyball tournament yesterday at the USP-F gym in Lahug.
It was a battle between the undefeated teams that lived up to the hype as the two squads split the first four sets, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 18-25.
In the end, the wards of head coach Clifford Cafe had the right stuff to eke out victory as they won the decider, 15-8 to finish the elimination round with a clean 7-0 (win-loss) record.
Also making it to the single round-robin semis are the University of the Visayas (UV) and Southwestern University (SWU).
SWU won its fourth game in seven outings after beating the Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU), 25-8, 25-9, 25-15.
In the girls’ division, SWU won over the defending champions USJ-R, 25-18, 23-25, 25-15, for its fourth win against just one loss. SWU joins the University of San Carlos, USJ-R and the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu in the semis, which starts on Tuesday at the Aznar Coliseum. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio