USPF makes semis: Baby Panthers bank on Salvador, Malata to nip UC in Cesafi beach volley

Crisley Sucalit of Southwestern University (SWU) dives to save the ball as teammate Wella Ortiga looks on during their match against the University of Cebu in the Cesafi beach volleyball tournament last Saturday at the SWU Sand Courts. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON).

League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Pol Salvador and Edmar Malata teamed up in a crucial play that propelled the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers to a 21-14, 24-22 win over the University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters in the CESAFI boys beach volleyball tournament yesterday at the Southwestern (SWU) Sand Courts.

Salvador and Malata’s heroics helped the Baby Panthers clinch the first spot in the knockout semifinal round.

The Baby Panthers seemed headed for an easy win as, after winning the opening set, they took a 14-11 lead in the second, but the Junior Webmasters unloaded an 11-8 run to knot the game at 22-all.

The two teams then figured in a nip and tuck exchange that resulted to a 22-all standoff. Salvador then delivered a ferocious kill that put the Baby Panthers in the driver seat, 23-22, before coming through with an off-balance pass to Malata, whose spike threaded the Junior Webmasters’ tight defense for the game-winning kill.

USPF now leads the standings with a 3-0 (win-loss) card, while UC dropped to 2-1.
The top four teams after the single round-robin eliminations will advanced to the knockout semifinals starting on Dec. 17.

Also in the boys division, SWU pocketed its first victory in three games by trouncing the winless Don Bosco Technological Center (DBTC), 21-13, 18-21, 15-6.

In the girls play, SWU notched its second consecutive victory by surviving the University of San Carlos (USC), 21-17, 21-14, while USPF barged into the win column after dropping its first assignment by surviving UC, 21-18, 21-18.

In the men’s collegiate action, the defending champions University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Spiking Jaguars (2-0) gained solo leadership in the standings after they survived the gritty University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, 25-23, 20-22, 15-12, while the USPF Spiking Panthers earned their first win in two tries by shocking last year’s runner-up SWU, 15-21, 21-19, 15-13.

In the distaff side, the USJ-R Lady Jaguars (2-0) remained unbeaten as they trampled, UC 21-11, 21-6, while the defending champions SWU Lady Cobras started their title-retention bid with a 21-15, 21-8 triumph over the winless USPF Lady Panthers.