Juan Carlo Mercado

The Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats recovered from their first set hiccup while the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers and the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters swept their respective foes in the V-League Visayas Men’s Division preliminaries at the USPF Lahug Gymnasium, July 12.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/V-League.

After falling into the hands of the University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC) Fighting Maroons in the opening set, the Wildcats bounced back with authority, handing the Fighting Maroons a 22-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14 win.

Coming off a previous loss, Kient Astorga surged with 17 markers, consisting of 16 kills and seven excellent receives throughout the match.

In a post-game interview with V-League, Wildcats’ head coach Arnel Loon expressed satisfaction with his team’s resilience.

“We are happy that we were able to recover not only from the first set, but in the game overall, given that we lost last week.”

Meanwhile, the USPF Panthers wasted no time at all, drubbing the University of San Jose Recoletos Jaguars in straight sets, 25-16, 25-19, 25-22 to improve to 2–0 in the tournament.

Setter Charles Emboy orchestrated the offense with precision, tallying 18 excellent sets and two service aces to lead his team’s seamless attack.

The Webmasters followed the trails of USPF, proving their supremacy over the University of San Carlos Warriors en route to a sweatless 25-18, 25-20, 26-24 feat.

Despite falling short, the Warriors put up a gutsy stand in the third set, pushing the Webmasters to their limit.

Quiades Labos proved to be the man for the Webmasters, webbing up outstanding 17 markers off 14 kills and five excellent digs.

All preliminary games are scheduled on the weekends of July while the CIT-U Wildcats will try to keep their winning ways tomorrow against the University of San Jose - Recoletos at the USPF Gymnasium.