Calabarzon upsets NCR in Palaro 2017 5-set volleyball finals thriller
STRIVING. Calabarzon tries to penetrate the National Capital Region's stonewall defense in the championship match of Palaron Pambansa 2017 volleyball tournament. Photo by John Aaron Metierre/ Rappler 
ANTIQUE, Philippines – Comeback is real.
After falling hard in the first two sets, Calabarzon wakes up from its nightmare and steals the most-coveted gold medal from Nation Capital Region (NCR) in a five-set thriller – 25-19, 25-11, 25-16, 25-16, 15-9 – in the Palarong Pambansa 2017 Volleyball secondary girls tournament on Saturday, April 29.
The De La Salle Lipa squad made a promising return in the fourth set as they rallied an astonishing 10-3 run relying heavily on Most Valuable Player (MVP) Allysa Jae Solomon’s attacks against last year’s champion NCR.
The momentum carried on in the fifth set as Region 4A continued to hit crucial spikes and penetrate NCR’s defense that led them to victory.
During the first set, NCR managed to challenge Calabarzon and pushed the squad to commit miscommunication errors resulting in a bad 25-19 start.
The second set match ended in with a massacre as Region 4A lost its composure and let NCR scored multiple aces to engage a 6-0 beginning that Calabarzon wasn’t able to recover.
Despite hitting rock bottom, Calabarzon fought not only with strong offense but also focused on their defense as they were able to receive attacks from NCR and counterpart it in their favor.
Calabarzon bags the gold in the Secondary Womens Volleyball defeating NCR in 5 sets. Photo by Mary Grace Dela Cerna/Rappler
Meanwhile, Western Visayas proved it has improved in the previous year as it clinched the bronze medal compared to its fifth place finish last Palarong Pambansa.
Moreover, Solomon was also awarded as Best Opposite Spiker who shared the stage with teammates Alleiah Malaluan as this year’s Best Blocker.
NCR bagged three special awards namely Best Setter, Best Libero and Best Outside Hitter given to Louie Romero, Adnrianna Centeno and Lucille Almonte, respectively.
The Best Server award was handed to Western Visayas athlete Elina Piosca. – Rappler.com
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