MANILA – Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts, representing Western Visayas, has repeated as champions in the Rebisco Volleyball League 18-Under 2024 National Finals.
The Thunderbolts retained the national title following a 25-16, 25-20, 25-13 straight set victory against University of Batangas in the one-game finals on Monday night at the Gameville Ball Park in Mandaluyong City.
Rhose Vianne Almendralejo displayed a consistent performance for the Thunderbolts the entire tournament to be named as Finals Most Valuable Player and 1st Best Outside Hitter.
Also making their presence felt are College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers-bound Camila Amor Bartolome, Joenil Ramos, and Rhea Tomas, as well as future Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles players Dona Mae De Leon and Ana Francessca Hermosura,
Completing the Thunderbolts’ lineup are Alexa Bertolano, Jan Rose Bulak, Brianna Nikola Ang, Czarina Dosayla, Ana Ysabelle Hermosura, and Abigael Labajo. Serving as head coach is Ian Macariola and Rommel Tabinas as his assistant coach.
“We are happy to retain the national championship, it was not an easy campaign for us but the players and coaches’ hard work has paid off,” said Thunderbolts team manager Jose Montalbo.
The Thunderbolts swept their group stage games against the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University of General Santos City, Corpus Christi School of Cagayan de Oro, Sta. Cruz Academy of Lubao in Pampanga, and University of Batangas in Batangas City.
Bacolod Tay Tung also had a dominant campaign in the semifinals round, where they defeated Kings Montessori School (KMS) in straight sets, 25-17, 25-12.
Meanwhile, other individual awardees are Jayrelle Mesa (Best Libero), Kriska Gindap (Best Opposite Spiker), and Ashley Macalinao (2nd Best Middle Blocker) of KMS, Mary Cortes (Best Setter) and Rachel Ann Tecson (2nd Best Outside Hitter) of University of San Jose-Recoletos, and Scarlet Escalante (1st Best Middle Blocker) of University of Batangas./PN
