Santo Tomas sweeps UAAP volleyball titles

On the Year of the Tiger, it was University of Santo Tomas which came out on top in the 72nd UAAP volleyball tournament.

The Espana-based squad completed their lofty billing as the best volleyball team of the season after completing a grand sweep of the men's and women's championships in front of 4,822 spectators at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Behind an incredible comeback in the fourth set, the Tigresses ended the title reign of the fancied La Salle, 25-18, 25-14, 16-25, 25-15, to complete a sweep of the best-of-three series and thus claim their first women's title since 2007.

Their win came after their men counterparts likewise finished off Far Eastern University, 25-21, 25-17, 25-21, and win the school's first-ever three-peat.

UST, which will likely to win its 12th consecutive general championship, thus became the first UAAP school since La Salle to bag both volleyball titles in the seniors division.

The Tigresses clinched their 14th title overall title thanks to a impressive performance in the fourth set.

La Salle, which was hoping to extend the series to a rubber match, took an 8-3 lead on a hit by Rookie of the Year and Best Blocker Joanne Siy.

The Lady Archers later went ahead 10-7 on a running spike by freshman Abigail Marano. From there, it became an all-Tiger show.

Lanky first-year sensation Aleone Denise Santiago tied the count at 10-all then Angeli Tabaquero, playing her final year, scored on a big hit to give UST the lead for good before a series of series by La Salle eventually put them ahead 15-10.

Rhea Dimaculangan extended the lead to seven on a lucky return shot that led to a DLSU error, making it 19-12 before Aiza Maizo took over, scoring consecutive drop balls for a commanding 24-13 advantage.

A service error by Tabaquero and a Marano block kept the Lady Archers alive but Emeli Zuno made a poorly served ball that went out of bounds to seal UST's victory.

"Sabi ko sa mga bata hindi naman nila kailangan mapressure yung sarili nila at magenjoy sila at wag kalabanin sarili nila kung baga lamang kami at tapusin na yung series," said coach Shaq delos Santos.

The 31-year old Delos Santos won his first UAAP title since taking over the reigns in 2008. He succeeded renowned mentor August Santamaria, who was forced to leave the sidelines after suffering a stroke that same year.

It was the fourth straight crown for the school in a span of 12 months. The Tigresses won  back-to-back Shakey's V-League titles at the expense of San Sebastian and Adamson then captured the UNIGAMES crown last October.

Tabaquero led the way for UST with 13 points while Maizo and rookie Maruja Banaticla added 11 points apiece. Santiago finished with 10 points.

But the Finals MVP plum went to Dimaculangan, who was also named as the league's Best Server. She finished with three points off two service aces.

UST ended the season on an amazing run, winning its last 12 games following a devastating five-set defeat at the hands of Ateneo en route to the crown.

It was a devastating setback for the Lady Archers, who was aiming for a second straight crown with high expectations. They won their first 13 games of the elimination round and were on pace to complete a rare 14-0 record.

But the Tigresses gave a heartbreaking loss to La Salle on Valentine's Day, winning in five sets. That perhaps gave them momentum heading into their title duel.

Alarca and Marano led the way for the Taft-based volleybelles with 10 points apiece with MVP candidate Stephanie Mercado and Charleen Cruz added nine points each.

However, it was another sloppy performance for the squad of coach Ramil de Jesus committing 33 errors during the 92-minute affair.

De Jesus, who guided La Salle to three straight titles from 2003-2005 and another last season, suffered his first finals defeat in five tries.

Meanwhile, Harby Ilano and John Paul Torres led the way with 14 points each while Jayson Ramos and Finals MVP Hendry Pecana chipped in 10 and nine points, respectively, as the Tigers made short work of the Tamaraws in 71 minutes.

"Masarap gawin tong three-peat dahil first time nangyari ito sa school namin. Next year, susubukan namin makakuha ng four-peat," said coach Emil Lontoc.

It was the second time in three seasons that UST beat FEU in the finals. The Tigers dethroned the Tamaraws in three hard-fought championship games two seasons ago.