MANILA – Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts settled for a silver medal finish in the 2024 Rebisco Volleyball League Invitational Tournament held over the weekend at the Gameville Ball Park in Mandaluyong City.
The Western Visayas representatives fell short of notching their second championship in a week after bowing to Nakornnonthaburi Volleyball Club of Thailand in the finals, 25-20, 20-25, 25-12, 25-16.
Even with the loss, Thunderbolts players still received individual citations, with Rhose Vianne Almendralejo being named MVP and Best Outside Hitter, Jan Rose Bulak as Best Setter, and Dona Mae de Leon as 2nd Best Middle Blocker.
Also part of the team are Camila Amor Bartolome, Joenil Ramos, Rhea Tomas, Ana Francessca Hermosura, Alexa Bertolano, Brianna Nikola Ang, Czarina Dosayla, Ana Ysabelle Hermosura, and Abigael Labajo.
Serving as head coach for the Thunderbolts is Ian Macariola and Rommel Tabinas as his assistant coach, and Jose Montalbo as the team manager.
The Thunderbolts finished the preliminaries with a 3-2 record, winning against Northern California Volleyball Association of USA, University of Batangas, and University of San Jose-Recoletos, and losing to Kings Montessori School and Nakornnonthaburi.
In the semifinals round, Bacolod Tay Tung got their revenge against Kings Montessori School to secure a championship clash with the visiting Nakornnonthaburi Volleyball Club.
“Obviously, this is not the result that we wanted but I am happy with our team’s performance against an experienced team like Nakornnonthaburi Volleyball Club,” Montalbo said.
“The experience and learnings that we gained from this tournament are good enough to toughen our squad as well compete in our tournaments in Bacolod City and possibly in Palarong Pambansa,” he added.
The Thunderbolts retained their championship in the Rebisco Volleyball League National Finals on Monday last week after defeating University of Batangas in the finals, 25-16, 25-20, 25-13./PN
