Reigning title-holders Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras and the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars look to book a spot in the finals as they collide in the Cesafi men’s volleyball tournament semifinals today at the University of San Carlos (USC) Main gym.
Both teams have identical 1-0 (win-loss) records in the single round-robin format semifinal round, which means the winner of today’s 8 a.m. match will be assured of a championship seat.
The top two teams in this round will advance to the finals.
The other teams in the semis are the University of San Carlos and University of the Visayas (UV), who both have 0-1 records. They will also face each other at 10 a.m.
SWU defeated UV, 22-25, 25-9, 25-11, 25-18, in its first game in the semis while USJ-R downed USC, 25-23, 25-23, 25-12.
The Cobras are considered favorites in this tournament for being the defending champions and for dominating the elimination round, losing just once.
Ironically, it was the Jaguars who handed SWU its only loss of the season, a 25-21, 25-21 25-18 decision in the elimination round.
With that in mind, veteran SWU mentor Dave Arreza reminded his players to stay focused as they eye redemption against USJ-R.
“I just told them to execute what we practiced,” Arreza said. “We have to learn from our mistakes before to prevent it from happening again.”
But USJ-R is also preparing for a SWU retaliation. In fact, USJ-R assistant coach Heintjie Tomales said the team expects the Cobras to give their all in today’s encounter.
“We prepared for this. I keep on reminding the players that come game time, we should do what we practiced,” Tomales said. “The important thing is to enjoy the game.”
In the second game, the Warriors and the Green Lancers are hoping to bounce back from their respective losses for a chance to advance to the finals. The loser of this game will be ousted.
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