SWU belles capture Cesafi volley crown

The Southwestern University (SWU) Lady Cobras are back on top after they reclaimed the championship in the women’s division with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-21 win over the Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU) in Game Two of the Cesafi volleyball finals yesterday at the Aznar Coliseum.

The win was a spectacular one for the wards of head coach Jordan Paca as it allowed them to sweep the season, winning 10 straight games to hoist the crown once again after losing it to the University of San Carlos (USC) last year.

“Reclaiming the title has been our goal since losing it to USC last year,” SWU athletic director Ryan Aznar said. “Winning it today was just icing on the cake.”

The affable team official gave credit to their new recruits, who he said really gave the team a big boost following the graduation of star players Rapril Aguilar and Danika Gendraule.

“Bringing in five dependable rookies for this year’s lineup was the best recruiting year that we’ve ever had,” Aznar added, referring to Sheena Quino, Shiela Bongo, Jannelle Cabahug, Therese Ramas and Dyan Darantinao.

The championship was SWU’s fourth in five years and from the looks of it, all signs point to the Lady Cobras keeping their dominance with high school standout Karen Derder set to join the team in place of graduating players Evan Genargue, Anna Sabanal, Charylou Wave Paden and Loida Abellana.

In the battle for third place in the women’s division, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) beat the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F), 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21.

USC BOYS SWEEP USJ-R FOR SECONDARY TITLE

The USC boys team made up for the loss of its girls team in the finals as it claimed the title via a sweep, dethroning the erstwhile champions USJ-R, 25-22, 25-15, in Game Two of the best-of-three finals late Friday night at the same venue.

It was USC’s best finish in this tournament in 12 years and more importantly, the victory also cushioned the blow suffered by USC’s girls team that was outplayed by SWU in the finals the other day.

In the game for third place, USP-F claimed the honor after beating Don Bosco, 25-17, 25-14.

Today, the USJ-R Spiking Jaguars gun for the crown as they target a sweep of USP-F in the men’s division of this tournament.

USJ-R drew first blood in Game One, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 15-10, to push ahead in the best-of-three series.

The Jaguars last held the title in 2010 on the tail end of their vaunted “three-peat.”