UAAP volleyball: UST men completes title sweep

MANILA, Philippines – It’s a perfect season for University of Santo Tomas (UST). The Tigers beat the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 25-22, 25-14, 25-17, Wednesday to sweep the 71st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan. Santo Tomas captured the title by winning all 17 games of the season, something that UST coach Emil Lontoc admittedly saw it coming. “Sa naging preparasyon namin, sinabi ko sa sarili ko na ang paglalabanan na lang ng ibang teams ay second place (The way we prepared before the season, I have told myself that the only thing left to be settled is second place)." He added that before the UAAP season, the Tigers captured the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) and the University Games crown in convincing fashion. UST setter Rey Karl Dimaculangan was named the tournament most valuable player despite scoring just one point in Game Two. Nevertheless, UST boasts of a balanced-scoring attack that has been there all season. Henry James Pecaña and John Paul Torres paced UST with 15 points each while Jayson Ramos added 10 more. “Talagang nakita ko na sa team na lahat sila puwedeng mag-contribute (I saw in this team that anyone can contribute in defense or in offense)," said Lontoc. Mark Sagad and Michael Jordan Arda each had nine points for the Fighting Maroons, who advanced to the finals after upsetting second-ranked La Salle in the semifinals. UST’s Paul John Romero tapped the ball into the UP line at matchpoint to seal the title win for the Tigers. Dimaculangan also took home the best server award while Ramos was named the best attacker with Pecaña winning the best digger plum. The other awardees are Lloyd Belgado of UP (best blocker), Ateneo’s Duane Teves (rookie of the year), Gerard Magtoto of UP (best receiver) and La Salle’s Bernard Casanova (best setter). – GMANews.TV