RTU breaks thru with 5-set victory

RTU’S John Pagtalunan and Sahud Masuhod engage IEM’s Michael Conde in a fierce net battle in yesterday’s game. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

It was Rizal Technological University’s turn to pull off a stunning but laborious five-set victory.

The Blue Thunder notched their first win by outlasting Instituto Estetico Manila, 25-22, 25-27, 12-25, 29-27, 15-11, last night to forge a four-team deadlock in the men’s division of the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 Third Conference at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Making up for his absence in the loss to Far Eastern U, Alnasip Laja delivered 23 kills while Sahud Masahud and skipper Sabtal Abdul combined for 25 hits for the Blue Thunder who came out strong after a listless third set performance.

All three previous games in the men’s division had gone the distance and it was no different last night. This time, however, the Blue Thunder showed strength and resolve under pressure, a far cry from their loss to the Tamaraws.

Cagayan Valley likewise rebounded from its five-set loss to pacesetting Army last Tuesday as it dominated PLDT Home Telpad, 25-17, 25-17, 27-25, in women’s play later in the night.
Aiza Maizo-Pontillas smashed 15 hits, Janine Marciano added 13 points while Ma. Angeli Tabaquero and Wenneth Eulalio contributed 10 points apiece for the Rising Suns.
The 74-minute victory put Cagayan in joint second with PLDT Home Telpad at 1-1 behind Army’s 2-0 card while Meralco trails the four-team field with two losses.
Relentless at the net in the last two sets, RTU completed the victory in two hours and 11 minutes.

The result meant that all four teams now have identical 1-1 records in a clear indication of the tournament’s competitive balance.

The Volley Masters opened their campaign with a five-set dumping of Systema last Sunday. And IEM got off to a strong start taking two of the first three sets before wilting in the face of RTU’s strong play.

Although the Volley Masters dominated almost every statistical category, the Blue Thunder actually won the important rallies in the stretch thanks to Laja and Masahud.

The Volley Smashers scored on more attacks, 63-57, led in blocks, 13-5, and made five aces as against the Thunder’s four.

Even in nonscoring skills, IEM dominated RTU, producing 47 excellent digs and 61 sets as against the 32 and 46, respectively, of the Thunder.

The loss put Jeffrey Jimenez’s 25-hit game down the drain. Karl dela Calzada wound up with 15 hits while Jason Canlas and Rudy Gatdula had 14 and 11 kills, respectively.