The USJ-R Lady Jaguars high school girls’ volleyball team along with their coaches during the awarding of the PRISAA National Games. | Photo from Chito Sy
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) flexed its might in the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Games held in Zamboanga City.
This after the reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) secondary girls beach volleyball champions swept the entire high school girls’ competition en route to the crown.
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The Baby Jaguars swept all of their scheduled matches from the eliminations, the semifinals, and all the way to the championship match on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Zamboanga City.
They finished the elimination round with a clean 6-0 (win-loss) sweep.
Well prepared USJ-R team
The players of Roldan Potot, who were supervised by fellow coach Michael Lim Simbajon, opened their campaign with a win against Region 3, 21-16, 21-14.
The Cebu team then beat Region 10, 21-10, 21-11, followed by another win against Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) 21-10, 21-12.
USJ-R beat CAR twice, 21-7, 21-7, and clinched its last two wins against Region 11 (21-7, 21-4), and Region 5 (21-10, 21-6).
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“Nakita sad namo sa condition sa mga bata, sa ilahang traning nga maayo ilahang gipakita. Makita pud nako sa uban team kay among gi observe ang ilang mga duwa kay single round robin man ang competition nga kaya ra namo,” said Simbajon, who led the team into winning the PRISAA title for the first time as their head coach.
“Makaingon ko nga mas well-prepared mi sa uban teams. We’re hopeful nga makuha namo ang championship kay na sweep namo until sa championship match. Pero we’re confident nga makuha gyud namo kay medyo naa ta advantage against nila.”
Good exposure
In the semifinals, the USJ-R beach volley team edged CAR anew, 21-8, 21-7, and went on to defeat Region 10 in the championship, 21-9, 21-6.
“Nindot ni nga exposure sa mga bata before sa Cesafi, nindot sad gani kaayo makakita mi sa laing teams from different regions kay naa ta makat-unan ug ma apply nato sa Cesafi ug sila naa nakat-unan gikan nato,” Simbajon said.
Simbajon’s players were Jaz Manguilimotan, Joralyn Panangin, and Mary Antoneth Cortez.
/bmjo