The Umingan players ran, jumped, screamed after winning their final match.

THE Umingan National High School Men’s Volleyball team staged a come-from-behind victory against VNS Savouge in a pulsating five-set thriller; 25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 25-17, 16-14 in the gold medal match in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) U18 Championships last April 28 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

With Umingan trailing behind, two sets to one, it managed to rally behind Michael Angelo Fernandez’s 20-point production alongside Eric Palad who contributed three attack points and one block in the fourth set.

The see-saw battle between the two teams continued in the final set with six ties and two lead changes.

VNS’ Terrence Marticion unleashed a cross-court hit to give his team  what could have been the first championship point but Umingan’s Pangasinan’s Alex Pillonar countered with his own cross-court hammer to even up the score at 14 all.

Umingan setter, Raine Christian Mariano, delivered in the clutch and made a service ace to give Pangasinan the championship point. Mariano duplicated the feat with a sharp serve and recorded back-to-back aces to seal the championship for Umingan.

Eusebio Solis, Umingan NHS head coach said  that the team banked on their tenacity to perform well during the crucial moments. “We proved something with this victory, that we, provincial teams, can beat the powerhouse teams from the big cities” Solis enthused.

The Umingan players who garnered individual awards were Aaron Oliveros (Best Middle Blocker), Raine Mariano (Best Setter), and Michael Angelo Fernandez (Best Outside Hitter and Most Valuable Player) (Kim Gealogo)

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