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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Junior Tigresses complete elims sweep, secure top semis seed

Junior Tigresses complete elims sweep, secure top semis seed

Published Jul 16, 2026 04:26 pm

At A Glance

  • University of Santo Tomas completed an elimination round sweep and locked the No. 1 seed in the semifinals after defeating erstwhile unbeaten St. John's Institute-Bacolod, 25-17, 25-23, in the 2026 Shakey's Juniors National Invitationals on Thursday, July 16, at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan.
Nicole Pelaez shines for UST. (SSL)
Nicole Pelaez shines for UST. (SSL)
University of Santo Tomas completed an elimination round sweep and locked the No. 1 seed in the semifinals after defeating erstwhile unbeaten St. John’s Institute-Bacolod, 25-17, 25-23, in the 2026 Shakey’s Juniors National Invitationals on Thursday, July 16, at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan.
Anelli Manzanillo played clutch in the closing stretch of the second set, scoring four of her team’s 5-2 finishing blow as the Junior Tigresses emerged unscathed after six starts in the elims of the tournament backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, and R and B Milk Tea.
UST, which ruled the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 a couple of months ago, will take on the fourth-seeded squad in the knockout Final Four on Friday at the same venue starting at 4 p.m.
Nicole Pelaez scored all her 10 points on attacks while Manzanillo finished with eight markers on four kills and four kill blocks to lead the Junior Tigresses, who have yet to drop a set in the weeklong competition supported by Jetour, Baic, Eurotel, Victory Liner Rent & Go, F2 Logistics, Summit Natural Drinking Water, PusoP.com and Smart Sports.
“Natutunan po namin sa preliminaries na ito kung paano po talaga ibigay yung best effort namin para makuha yung isang puntos,” Manzanillo said.
“Alam namin nag-training din yung ibang team so dapat maibigay din namin yung tamang galaw and best talaga na maibibigay namin na laro,” she added.
UST encountered tough opposition from the Falcons in the second set and trailed SJI-Bacolod, 20-21, after a Kristel Mirasol hit.
Manzanillo took matters into her own hands and scored back-to-back kills before Pelaez smashed an attack for a 23-21 UST advantage.
Eliz Menchavez committed an attack error that gave the Falcons a breather but Manzanillo answered with a kill block to put UST at match point, 24-22.
SJI-Bacolod saved a match point on an error by the Junior Tigresses before Manzanillo capped the one-hour, five-minute victory with a kill block against Caera Celis.
The semis-bound Falcons saw their four-game winning streak snapped heading into their final elims match against Guam-based guest team Pacific Volleyball Academy, Inc. later in the day.
Celis was limited to just seven points while Edz Escultura and Eileen Yanson logged in five markers each for SJI-Bacolod, which shot itself in the foot with 18 errors.
All games in the competition, backed by technical partners Philippine Sports Commission, Commission on Higher Education, Mikasa, Asics, Rigour Technology and Team Rebel Sports, are available live and on-demand via PusoP.com livestream and Solar Sports.

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