One Silay formalized its entry to the semifinal after beating Lingayen in a thrilling five-setter win, 21-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-13, 15-12, on Friday, Jan. 31, in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-21 Championship National Men’s Division at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
One Silay earns PNVF U-21 semifinal berth, outshines Lingayen in five sets
At a glance
One Silay formalized its entry to the semifinal after beating Lingayen in a thrilling five-setter win, 21-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-13, 15-12, on Friday, Jan. 31, in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-21 Championship National Men’s Division at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
After losing the opening and second set, the volleyball players from Negros Occidental came to their senses by doubling their attacks and tightening up their defense in the last three sets to score a complete reversal in Group A.
One Silay finished the preliminary round with 2-1 win-loss record in the tournament backed by Akari, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Meralco, PLDT, Smart, AyalaLand, Nuvali, Mikasa, Senoh, Asics, Rebisco, Cignal, OneSports, OneSports+ and Pilipinas Live.
Lingayen, which beat Volleyball Never Stop (VNS), 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23, ended the preliminary round with 1-2 record.
The only defeat of One Silay came from Mindanao’s top team Zamboanga City, 22-25, 21-25, 21-25, last Thursday. Zamboanga City, currently undefeated in two games, is also sure of clinching a semifinal seat.
University of the East (UE), also qualified for semifinal spot, is also undefeated in Group B with 2-0 slate at the tournament organized by the PNVF headed by President Ramon “Tats” Suzara, also the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) president and FIVB executive vice president.
The classification phase (No. 5 to 8) will be played on Saturday starting 9am, and 11:30am before the semifinal matches hit at 2pm and 4:30pm.