Eagles soar to fifth title

Grace Christian Academy recorded a masterful 25-11, 25-10 victory over Mt. Carmel School in the finals of the 2008-2009 Coalition of Private Schools Volleyball League Friday to notch an unprecedented fifth championship in a row in the high school division.

The Eagles played it smart engaging the Knights in a battle away from the net moving the latter out of their comfort zone.

The Knight entered the one-game finals boosting with confidence following their hard-earned semis win over the MBA Storms, 23-25, 27-25, 15-11.

Against the Stormz, the Knights survived through the impressive games on the net by Jake Igitol, Peter Matagolai, and Min Joo Jung.

When Mt. Carmel faced GCA in the finals, the Knights trio played without its lethal weapons—blocks and spikes.

Matagolai and Jung were frustrated in their setup plays, as they were called for tossing violation on several occasions. On a couple of times, the ball slipped on their hands while preparing for a setup job.

With Matagolai and Jung having off games, Igitol had little opportunities to go for kills, leaving Noelle Calvo the task to go for spikes, which were easily received by GCA defenders.

On offense, the Eagles also played away from the net most of the time despite having 6-foot-1 Dae Woon Jeon and three other leapers in the middle.

When Jeon and the rest of the GCA frontliners went for kills, they made sure they were powerful ones and difficult enough for the Knights to return. Several times, Jeon and backup blocker/spiker Luther Taylor bluffed MCS defenders, looking to go for strong kills, but in the last minute would just go for placings.

Backliners Denise Das, Stephanie Batallones, Philvinia Atalig, and Colleen Kinsella did a great job hustling for the ball to complete their frontliners’ wise plays.

Other members of the winning team were Angelo Salas, Anthony Borja, Brandon and Nathan Chargualaf, Dae Min Jeon, Keith Salan, Rika Kaijo, Keala Peters, and Ceejay Libut.

Mark Robles coached the Eagles and it was his second straight title for the GCA.

Robles said it was their game plan not to play Mt. Carmel on the net and he was happy his players followed their strategy.

“Mt. Carmel won against MBA because of their good net game. Those big spikes and blocks gave the Knights the energy to win the semifinals game,” Robles said.

“After seeing MCS beat MBA, I told our players to stay calm, don’t be overwhelmed with the battle on the net or when the crowd is up on its feet, and keep the ball away from the Knigh’s blockers and tossers,” he added.

With GCA players following Robles’ game plan, the Eagles won the first set easily.

In the second set, the Eagles started to play the Knights’ game and the former paid for the gamble, as Mt. Carmel moved within one, 5-6.

But that was the closest that the Knights could, as the Eagles returned to their senses, keeping the game away from the net, again.

The Knights tried to bring the game on the net, but Mike Villagomez, who replaced Jung midway in the second set, committed several errors as his kills were either going out or hitting the net.

When Jung reported back into the game trying to repair the damage for the Knights, it was already too late as the Eagles were pulling away, leading at 21-5.

When GCA was breaking the game wide open, Igitol and Matagolai were way out of the net watching their title bid fall apart.

Despite a big lead, the Eagles continued to hustle for the ball in the end with Das delivering the game-winning point. Coming from the middle, Das chased the ball to the left sideline and returned it to the Knights’ court.

Igitol attempted for a toss, but had no luck as it slipped away from his hands, prompting an Eagles celebration.

In the battle for third place, Seventh Day Adventists outlasted MBA in three sets, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13.