CADIZ City – Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts girls volleyball team added another trophy to its collection after ruling the Women’s Category of the Dinagsa Festival Invitational Volleyball Tournament over the weekend at the Cadiz Arena here.
Bannered by Alex Montoro and Dona Mae de Leon, the Thunderbolts crew scored a 25-14, 28-26, 25-12 straight set romp of University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in the gold medal match.
Save for the tightly-contested second set, the Ian Macariola and Roberto Calamba Jr.-mentored Thunderbolts cruised to strong starts in first and third sets before holding their own on UNO-R’s fight back attempt.
The two-day volleyball fest also served as the final game for graduating Thunderbolts Katherine Shaine Cortez and Amber Lily Biong wearing Bacolod Tay Tung High School jersey.
“The coaches are sad because this was Katherine and Amber’s final game with us. They were both talented players and very coachable. The team will surely miss their leadership on the court,” Calamba said.
“Katherine, Amber as well as our other graduating players Gwen (Banas) and Sophie (Cagalawan) provided impact to our younger players for them to continue our winning tradition,” he added.
Also part of the Thunderbolts squad for the tourney were Camila Amor Bartolome, Mary Antonette Bontia, Jan Rose Bulak, Jihan Chuatico, Ana Francessca Hermosura, Jothea Mae Ramos, Joenil Anne Ramos, Briana Ang and Rhose Viane Almendralejo.
On their way to the championship round, the Thunderbolts also prevailed over Cadiz A, University of San Agustin and UNO-R, which had two former Thunderbolts players in Marixi Maligmat and Beatriz Decena.
“It was a huge victory for our younger Thunderbolts players because they were tested against the college players,” said Thunderbolts team manager Jose Montalbo. “That will further quicken their volleyball maturity.”
The volleyball tournament, which was held as part of Cadiz City’s Dinagsa Festival, was participated by eight squads across Negros Occidental that was divided into two groups./PN
