X Factor bags AFCSCOM volleyball title

DAMMAM: Showing its elimination round loss against King Fahad Specialist Hospital (KFSH) First Medical Team was a fluke, X Factor dominated the net and dictated the tempo in a breathtaking five sets championship match 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 25-1515-11 to win the All Filipino Community and Sports Commission (AFCSCOM) Volleyball Tournament men’s title and cement its position as one of the region’s best volleyball teams at the jampacked Al Jazeera International School multi-purpose quadrangle court here.
Former Lyceum of the Philippines standout and team captain Louie Legaspi bowed out with a flourish, leading his team with a hard-fighting First Medical Team which gave the champion team a headache all throughout the match.
After taking the first set orchestrated by power hitters and Mythical Six members Noel Diaz, Alexander Lui and Most Valuable Player Racy Manalon of the X Factor, First Medical Team controlled the game in the second and third sets courtesy of tower hitters Matthew Carney and Rodney Serfino, as they teamed with Marvin Maniago, Arnold Sanchez and Alvin Pascual in a solid court defense.
With momentum shift to First Medical, the champions realigned their court rotation and blunted their opponents’ repeated assault in the fourth quarter. Jun Miral stepped into the fray and provided muscle and delivered crucial blocks when they were needed most. With Miral and Raymond Teodocio on defense, Manalon, Legaspi and Exequiel Beso leading the offensive and Sherwin Canillo hitting an ace service winner in the crucial stage, X Factor showed its championship pedigree to pull away at 25-15 before the final and deciding match.
In the final set, X Factor underlined its dominance and displayed perfect and balance attack in the net with Libero Edgar S. Padua and defense specialist Michael Hinanay responsible for returning all thunderous spikes by the opponent.
With X-Factor ahead at 11-9, the frustration felt by the First Medical Team was evident when some important balls got through. High jumper Manalon put icing on the victory cake with his butterfly approach in the net converting the last point to claim the title.
“Bad officiating almost killed us” X Factor team manager Eric Enriquez said. “There are technical errors and net violations committed by the other team especially in the crucial match, but the umpire saw nothing as if he is just enjoying watching the thrilling game” Enriquez said referring to second referee Darius Alburoto.
“I hope in the next tournament, the organizers should consider conducting a volleyball officiating and technical clinic together with captain balls and head coach to protect the integrity and reputation of the tournament,” Enriquez added.
“I only whistled if I saw obvious violations for both team to ensure fair play and balance competition, there are technical errors maybe but I don’t see it, besides I’ve been officiating long time ago, I must say, the organizers are quite happy with my service,” Alburoto said after the match.
Maria Lourdes Silverio, AFCSCOM vice president for sports and the overall chairman-director, congratulated the champion team and thanked all the participating teams, the volunteers, team owners, company officials and all the sponsors for their untiring support in making the tournament a success.
Members of the mythical six are Louie Legaspi (X-Factor), Christian Mendoza (TNB), Noel Diaz (X-Factor), Jhayfee Marcos (Pirates), Rodney Serfino (First Medical Team) and Alexander Lui (X-Factor).
Besides MVP Manalon others who got special awards are Archie Villamejor Rookie of the Tournament (Pirates Team), Berbald Miranda Best Libero (Pirates), Jun Miral Best Blocker (X-Factor), JB Padeza Best Server (Pirates), Exequiel Beso Best Digger (X-Factor), Sherwin Canillo Best Setter (X-Factor) and Mathew Carney Best Spiker (First Medical Team) while Most Improved Team went to TNB Team.
The X Factor volleyball team are Louie Legaspi, Sherwin Canillo, Noel Diaz, Alexander Lui, Racy Manalon, Exequiel Beso, Gil Asis, Joseph Araullo, Fermin Agrisola, Jessie James Luy, Raymond Teodocio, Michael Medina, Jun Miral, Michael Hinanay and Edgie S. Padua. The team was managed by Eric Enriquez with Jenele Flores as assistant coach.
The tournament was sponsored by New Cabalen Restaurant, Gulf Consolidated Contracting, Goldwings Cargo & Restaurant, Sky Freight Forwarders, Nestlé Springs Water, McDonald’s, Mohammed Al Dossary Hospital, ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel, Seattle’s Best – Cinnabon, Al Jazeera International School and International Philippine School in Al Khobar.