Zamboanga City used its strong solid all-around game to outlast Umingan, 23-25, 25-23, 32-30, 17-25, 15-10 and claim a final berth at the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-21 Championship National Men’s Division on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Christian Paul Salboro delivered 35 points, highlighted by six blocks, while Jubert Sioting dropped 20 points and Carl John Nabora made 14 points to lead Zamboanga in the tournament organized by the PNVF headed by President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
Zamboanga City, which topped Group A preliminary round with 2-1 record, was relentless with its aggressive attacks against Umingan, 179-159, in the five-set victory that earned them a shot for the gold medal on Sunday at 4:30 pm.
One Silay and University of the East (UE) were still playing as of press time in the other semifinal.
The tournament was backed by Akari, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Meralco, PLDT, Smart, AyalaLand, Nuvali, Mikasa, Senoh, Asics, Rebisco, Cignal, OneSports, OneSports+ and Pilipinas Live.
Earlier in the classification phase, Lingayen beat City of Naga-Cebu Volleyball Club, 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, and Notre Dame Dadiangas University defeated Volleyball Never Stop (VNS), 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13, for the No. 5 to 8 placings.
