Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu’s Danielle Malazarte takes on the defense of USPF’s Anne Cuerbo in their game last Sunday at the SWU Sand Courts. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Magis Eagles need to sweep remaining games to advance to semifinals of Cesafi beach volley
Although the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles had a shaky start to its Cesafi beach volleyball season, all is not lost for the reigning girls indoor champions as they still have a shot at a semis seat in this tournament.
But the road to reaching that goal won’t be easy as the Magis Eagles trio of Danielle Malazarte, Jennifer delos Santos and Angelyna Canieso need to win all of their remaining games in the elimination round at the Southwestern University (SWU) Sand Courts today.
SHS-AdC picked up its first win in school history by defeating the winless Cebu Eastern College (CEC) 21-8, 21-11 for a 1-2 (win-loss) record.
That win put the Magis Eagles behind the University of Cebu, which finished all its elimination round assignments last weekend to stay at fourth spot with a 3-3 (win-loss) card.
Today, SHS-AdC will play against SWU, University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) and the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF).
It needs to win all to clinch a spot in the next round.
Magis Eagles mentor Mario Sala knows that it will be a tough task ahead, knowing that a single loss by the Magis Eagles would automatically give the last semifinal spot to the Webmasters.
“We have to play consistent defense and smart offense to have a chance,” Sala said.
SWU currently leads the standings with a 4-0 card, followed by University of San Carlos (USC) and USPF, which are tied at second with 3-1 records.
Finals rematch
Meanwhile, bitter rivals and last year’s finalists SWU and USJ-R cross paths in both men’s and women’s divisions today.
Both the Lady Jaguars and the Lady Cobras are tied at the top of the women’s standings with 2-0 (win-loss) cards and have already secured their respective places in the semifinal round.
Game time between the Lady Jaguars and Lady Cobras is set at 3 p.m.
Their male counterparts, the SWU Spiking Cobras, currently tied at third with USPF with identical 2-2 slates, look to position themselves better in the next round when they face the defending champions Spiking Jaguars (4-0).