Dragon Balls rule v-ball tournament

Team Dragon Balls players are all smiles after clinching the men’s title in the 1st Danny Borlain Indoor Volleyball Classic last Friday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Jon Perez)

Dragon Balls swept past BTG, 25-14, 25-22, in their championship match to rule the 1st Danny Borlain’s Indoor Volleyball Classic last Friday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Dragon Balls easily won the first set as they raced to a 6-0 lead and never looked back behind the hard-hitting Fred Apelu, who excelled on both ends of the floor. BTG’s plays were in total disarray in the opening frame as it could not match Dragon Balls’ net defense that was led by Apelu, whose intensity rubbed off to his teammates.

On offense, Jonas Barcinas set up Dragon Balls’ kills, while Jerry Sarez and Jeff Riman kept the ball in play with their digs and saves. BTG tried to stage a comeback, but ran out of gas as it seemed to be threatened by Apelu’s presence at the net.

BTG then played more relaxed in the second set and kept the game close as Apelu ended up at the backline after several rotations and at the same time misfired with his attacks. BTG scored three straight points to tie the count at 17 behind the two-man block by Alfredo Guevarra and Jerrett Rosario, a Guevarra kill, and a reception error by Dragon Balls.

Dragon Balls answered with a 7-1 run to move a point away from wrapping up the contest. BTG strung up four consecutive points highlighted by a Yohei Iwashita ace to stay in contention, but he also ended the game with a service error as Dragon Balls players started their celebration on the court.

Before their title showdown, Dragon Balls and BTG ended up tied for the lead, but the latter earned the top ranking after scoring more points—320 against the eventual champions’ 300.

Dragon Balls then secured the first finals spot after defeating BTG in three hard-fought sets, 24-26, 28-26, 25-11. BTG, on the other hand, escaped with a 25-18, 25-20 decision over Hit-Faced in their knockout semis match to get a second crack at Dragon Balls. A1 Good Enough also competed in the tournament.

Meanwhile, in the women’s finals, All About The Ace squeezed out a 25-20, 25-19 win against Serve’s Up to make it two in a row against the same opponent.

All About The Ace downed Serve’s Up in the semis, 25-23, 25-15, to move into the finals, while the latter had to grind out a 25-12, 25-19 win over Talaabwogh in the second semis game to keep its title hopes alive.

In the elimination, All About the Ace had a sweep for a 6-0 record, while Serve’s Up won the tiebreak against Talaabwogh to clinch the second spot. Da Starz was the other team that competed in the women’s division.

All About The Ace and Dragon Balls received trophies at the conclusion of the tournament. Event organizers also handed out individual awards with Apelu getting the men’s most valuable player plum and Toni Yamada duplicating the feat in the women’s division. Jerico Castro and Leana Otiwii were named the men’s and women’s inspirational players.