NU-NAZARETH School and Bacolod Tay Tung set up a dream winner-take-all championship match after sweeping their respective rivals in the 2025 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 semifinal Friday at the La Salle Green Hills Gym.
The Lady Bullpups earned a breakthrough gold medal match appearance after an emphatic sweep of Emilio Aguinaldo College, 25-16, 25-15, 25-11, while the Thunderbolts secured another crack at the title with a 25-20, 25-15, 25-18, dismantling of De La Salle-Lipa.
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The protagonists of the recently concluded Ilocos Norte Palarong Pambansa will fight for all the marbles in the country’s biggest grassroots volleyball league backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, and R and B Milk Tea on Saturday.
Sam Cantada’s scoring prowess was on full display, as the reigning UAAP MVP erupted for a game-high 20 points to bring NUNS closer to adding the SGVIL crown to its collection following its UAAP and Palarong Pambansa conquests.
Harlyn Serneche posted 11 points and Denesse Daylisan had 10 markers, while setter Rihanna Navarro tallied 14 excellent sets and added five points for the blue-and-gold, which extended its unbeaten winning run to six matches without dropping a single set.
Cantada and Serneche accounted for 11 attacks each, as the Lady Bullpups outspiked the Lady Brigadiers, 41-18.
Angel Perez paced EAC, which saw its five-game winning streak snapped, with 13 points off seven kills, five aces, and a kill block.
Bacolod back in the finals
Last edition’s runner-up Tay Tung then banked on Rhose Almendralejo’s 18-point explosion, all off attacks, for a second straight championship appearance.
“Sabi ko sa sarili ko pagod lang ‘yan, pagod lang. Sabi ko babawi kami sa NU, so ngayon ibinigay nga ni Lord. Babalik ulit kami ng championship,” Almendralejo said.
Alexa Bertolano and Donna Mae De Leon chipped in 10 and eight markers, respectively, for the Thunderbolts.
Althea Sumague had 11 points to lead the Green Stallions, who will face the Lady Brigadiers in the battle for bronze.
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