THE UNIVERSITY of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Panthers booked the last ticket to the finals after they outclassed the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras in four thrilling sets in the last day of the semifinals of the 2013 Cesafi volleyball tournament last Sunday at the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) gym in Basak.
Backed into a corner following a loss to rivals USJ-R, the Panthers of head coach Clifford Café pulled off pulse-pounding wins in the third and fourth sets—thanks in large part to the efforts of high-flyer Edmar Bonono—to come away with the 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 31-29 victory.
The win gives USP-F a chance at redemption as it will face off with the Jaguars in a best-of-three finals series starting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the stakes are its highest today when the championship series in both the women’s and girls’ divisions kick off at 6 p.m. at the Aznar Coliseum.
SWU tries to pull off a double whammy as its high school squad battles the undefeated University of San Carlos (USC) while its collegiate team takes on the upstart Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU). /Correspondent Jonas Panerio