TUBA SURVIVES GRITTY TUBLAY IN FIVE SET THRILLER, VALLEY GIRLS SWEEP SHORTHANDED KIBUNGAN

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Photo Courtesy by Rhey-Vhen Carnate/BSU-Intern

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet

Tuba survived a feisty Tublay in a five-set thriller that almost went the latter’s way and remains one of the two unbeaten teams yet in the Cong. Eric Go Yap Congressional Cup – Benguet Women’s Volleyball League at the La Trinidad municipal gym here last Wednesday. This as La Trinidad in a no sweat three set victory over a shorthanded Kibungan. Tuba settled for a 25-19, 14- 25, 17-25, 25-19, 17-15 in 98 minutes of action, the first five set game in the league backed by Cong. Yap, the ACT-CIS Party list, the office of Gov. Melchor Diclas and the Media for Sports Development.

Tubaly even took a four point lead in the fifth and deciding set, 13-9, but it could not just finish off the game that a gritty stand by the highly favored Tuba turned the tide as it made a 6-1 run to serve at match point, 15-14.
But just not yet as Tublay saved one match point for deuce at 15-all. Tuba from there scored the last two points,
including a kill by ABCAmp alum Radinka Dumawor in what is the first five set match in the one month old league.
Kate Nicole Payang led the way for Tuba as she scored 13 points on 11 kills and two service aces.

“We collapsed and we did not receive well in the second and third sets,” said Payang, who received her second best
player of the game award. The second set saw Marciar Pilay make four aces alone and Cherelyn Marie Sabado had five of the team’s eight in the third set. “At least we saw what the team lacks. That is what we will improve on,” said Tuba coach Billy Narciso in the vernacular. Dumawor settled for 10 points built on nine kills and a service ace.

Pilay led all scorers with 23 points on 16 kills and seven aces. Meanwhile, only eight players turned in for Kibungan
and one of them not wearing the proper shorts that voided her chance to play. With only six players and a libero, the
Kibungan side faced the second and third stringers of the host team and the result was a 25-7, 25-17, 25-6 win.
Trinidad breezed past Kibungan in just 11 minutes of action in the first set, vacillated when practically all the players
are third stringers in the second set for the “long” 18 minutes and where it even trailed by two, 9-11 at one juncture.
The 41 minute action is also the shortest in the league, moreover.

Marie Heidi Tallocoy made most of her presence in the court as she scored a team high 14 points 12 of which are aces and just two kills. She was also one of the two players who played for all sets along with Kates Gacad who showed up with seven points, all on kills. Trinidad gave up 11 errors and five service errors in the second set alone, thus the 17
points it allowed their opponent. Trinidad is set to face Kapangan on Sunday at the latter’s home court in one of its
tougher assignments. “We will be preparing for them (Kapangan) and will be practicing. Hopefully, we will have the time since the past weeks we failed to train due to the series of typhoons,” said Jhon Patrick Garcia in the vernacular.

Powerhouse Sablan is the other team with no loss yet with Jasmyn Polon is living up to the expectation that it is the team to beat. Polon is the reigning Baguio Benguet Educational Athletic League most valuable player after leading the Baguio College of Technology to the title by beating the University of Baguio last June. She also helped BCT to a
third-place finish in the Private School Athletic Association earlier this year.

Pigeon Lobien/ABN