4 minute read
MMSU STALLIONS SHOW PRECISION, CLAIM MEDAL SPREE IN NON-TRAD ARNIS ANYO TILT
from Paglayag Volume 2 Issue 1
by SIRMATA
clean win
Advertisement
By: Benedict Jay R. Collado
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Calm and
composed. They claimed the championship title with a clean victory.
The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) Stallions showed no sign of sluggishness right off the bat before registering their well-calibrated attacks and combos which became their springboard to seize a lopsided 3-0 win (2523, 25-16, 25-19) against the Pangasinan
State University (PSU) Golden Lions, during the State Colleges and Universities Athletic
Association (SCUAA) Region 1 - Volleyball
Men Finals at the Lingayen Covered Court,
November 24.
The Stallions yielded to their stronger offense in the early game and later framed unanswered blows in the latter which made them sustain their score haul throughout the pivotal match and leave their enemies helpless during the match.
Prior to the �inals, Stallions seized a clean 5-0 win-loss record in the round-robin eliminations which became their springboard to establish their momentum in the tournament with a twice-to-beat advantage in the �inals.
But the Stallions chose to seal the deal early rather than prolong the agony.
“I told them to enjoy the game without getting overwhelmed by the adrenaline that they had during the match,” said winning coach Jerold
Labii in a post-game interview. “I reiterated to them the hard work that they did during the training, and as much as possible, to minimize their mistakes inside the court.”
In the opening set, Stallions
immediately came in with a 3-1 run with team captain Justine Lee Ranga taking charge of the front line with two early attacks, 8-5 after another series of combination shots from the squad.
Lions closed in not long after as they capitalized on Mark Caspit and Earl Ramos’ blocks, 12-12. Then came Lloyd Andrei Constantino who came in to continue his point spree as he nailed back attacks and quick shots with Ranga bringing in sharp spikes en route to escape and rise above their opponent.
But the Lions were persistent in framing their plays, making them snatch the lead for a while, 1415, then a tight �ight �lared the court which saw four deadlocks in the match (15-15, 16-16, 17-17, 1818).
Their enemy’s run, however, was just short-lived as the Stallions took the driver’s seat to change the course as the �irst ended with 25-23, posting a 10-3 head start in the second set which gave a tough blow that made the Lions bend over.
Stallions’ tower Ivan Butac came in to spice the combos up of the team as he acted as an effective while powerful Constantino took the offensive shots with his strong cross-court shots and wipeouts, taking the upper hand in the second set with a wide gap, 25-16. The domination of Stallions was not only limited to the court as MMSU supporters started to roar and overpower the host university which boosted the Stallions mainly on the last set as the players eye for a clean win in the �inals.
Anyone inside the court can attack, literally.
Powerful trio Ranga, Butac, and Constantino, together with Joar Ramos and Dale Saguiguit posted a strong connection with their well-coordinated plays to sustain manageable leads which became their springboard in bringing quick shots and sturdy plays, 15-9 before a hastily-assembles Constantino gave enough points to keep the lead, 20-15.
Finally, the squad saw Constatnito and Butac’s chemistry in playing the minds of their enemy as they posted their �inishing touches with consecutive points to �inally claim the title, 25-19.
“What we just did to sustain the momentum all throughout is to keep the bond and brotherhood that we have inside and outside of the court, and of course, as the captain, it’s my job to uplift the spirit of my teammates to win this,” said captain Ranga.
Meanwhile, big scorer Constantino also said that towards the end, what was going inside his mind was just to make points as many as possible and not waste the hard work that they capitalized on prior to the regional meet.
