IT WASN’T the route they had hoped for, but the reigning champions University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Spiking Jaguars still made it to the semifinals of the F2 Logistics Cesafi men’s volleyball tournament nevertheless.
But the quest for another crown doesn’t get any easier as they go up against the unbeaten University of the Visayas (UV) at the start of the round robin semis today at the University of San Carlos (USC) Main gym.
The Spiking Jaguars barely reached the penultimate round after finishing the eliminations in fourth with an unexpected 3-3 (win-loss) card.
Going up against a tough UV team that blasted them in four sets during their lone elimination round encounter, multi-titled Jaguars head coach Grace Antigua believes that the team should play as a cohesive unit to be able to get back on the Lancers.
“The team needs to have their confidence back and everything will just follow. Teamwork and communication should be present during every set,” Antigua said. “[I] hope they could deliver on Saturday.”
Game time is set at 8:30 a.m. today.
In other men’s semifinals pairing, the Southwestern University (SWU)–Phinma looks to slow down the red-hot Cebu Institute of Technology–University (CIT-U), which is currently on a three-game winning streak, when both battle at 10:30 a.m. today.
The top two teams after the single-round robin semifinals will battle for the crown in a best-of-three series which starts on Nov. 18.