University of Batangas and Immaculada Concepcion College once again showcased their dominance, advancing to the finals for the second straight year in the PG Flex-UCAL Season 8 Volleyball Tournament on Friday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The UB Brahmans leaned heavily on their 1-2 punch of Aldrin Rosales and Prince Ramirez to outlast Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas, 25-15, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21, in their knockout semifinals duel, extending their impressive winning streak to eight games in the men’s division.
Overall, it was the Brahmans’ 20th straight victory dating back to their dominant title sweep last season.
Rosales delivered 14 points while Ramirez added 10 as the top-seeded Brahmans arranged a best-of-three title rematch with the ICC Blue Hawks starting Tuesday, Nov. 25.
The Blue Hawks, meanwhile, rode on Aaron Devosoro’s 19-point explosion to escape the Philippine Christian University-Dasmariñas Dolphins, 25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 26-16, 15-11, in a thriller filled with long rallies and powerful hits from both sides.
(C) UCAL
The women’s semifinals were just as intense, with reigning champion ICC relying on the heroics of Andrea Caparal to edge the UB Lady Brahmans, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20, in a rematch of last year’s finals.
In the championship series—also a best-of-three—the Lady Blue Hawks will face the PCU-D Lady Dolphins, who carved out a gripping 25-17, 25-22, 17-25, 31-29 win over LPU-B.
Caparal was nearly unstoppable, finishing with 20 points built on 19 attacks and an ace in the event backed by Akari, Advance Solutions Inc., Smart Sports, Spalding, Team Rebel Sports, Quintana Sports, Crane Faucet, Hapee Toothpaste, Jiang Nan Restaurant, Vital, TopFlite Academy, Maruyama, and Gerry’s Grill.
