The USPF Baby Panthers celebrate after winning Game 1 against defending champions USJ-R Baby Jaguars in the 2018
Cesafi boys volleyball best-of-three finals.
Defending champions in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) secondary volleyball tournament suffered contrasting fates with University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers upsetting defending champions University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors, 23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 19-25, 15-13, to take Game 1 in their best-of-three finals in the boys division.
In contrast, girls volleyball defending champion USPF is just one game away from retaining its title by winning Game 1 with a three-set sweep of University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21.
In the battle for third, USC Baby Warriors and USJ-R Baby Jaguars hurdled past their opponents in the girls and boys divisions, respectively.
USC outsmarted Ateneo, 25-19, 16-25, 25-22, while USJ-R defeated Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma, 25-20, 25-27, 25-21.
“This is a very big bonus for us,” USC girls volleyball head coach Dominic Macuto exclaimed.
The third place was a big improvement from last year because USC did not make it into the top 4 last season.
In the collegiate games, the University of the Visayas (UV) Spiking Lancers completed the semifinals cast in the Men’s division.
The Spiking Lancers defeated USC Warriors, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 16-25, 15-12.
UV stained USC’s record to 3-4 (win-loss), while it improved its record to 4-3.
The win allowed UV to claim the final fourth spot in the semis.
Defending champions SWU-Phinma is the top seed with its immaculate 7-0 card.
Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) follows in second with 5-2 and USJ-R, also with 5-2, at third.