UST Junior Tigresses. Handout/Shakey's
MANILA -- Unbeaten University of Santo Tomas swept feisty One La Salle, 25-17, 25-22, to secure a semifinal berth in the 2026 Shakey’s Juniors National Invitationals on Wednesday at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan.
The Junior Tigresses weathered a furious second-set fightback by One La Salle to notch their fourth win in as many outings and advance to the next round.
Nicole Pelaez smashed 10 of her game-high 12 points on attacks to lead the reigning Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 champion.
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UST erected a commanding 20-13 lead in the second frame but Aislyn Alemana and Alyana Valdez anchored One La Salle’s 9-2 rally to cut the Junior Tigresses’ advantage to just one, 23-22.
Antonella Jayobo, however, killed her team’s momentum with a costly service error before Anneli Manzanillo sealed the 55-minute match with an ace.
“Very challenging kasi nahirapan kami sa second set lalo na’t marami kaming errors. Pero naka-adjust naman po,” said Pelaez, who added two kill blocks with three digs.
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Manzanillo added eight points while Erin Sotto and Jyrah Romias chipped in five markers each for the Junior Tigresses, who are playing also-ran Pusong Azul as of press time.
One La Salle saw its three-game winning streak snapped to slip to a 3-2 win-loss record. Alemana had seven points and Valdez added five.
Meanwhile, St. John’s Institute-Bacolod defeated Arellano University High School, 25-22, 25-17, to punch a Final Four ticket.
Caera Celis blasted 12 points on nine kills, two aces and a kill block to power the Falcons to a 4-0 slate. Edz Escultura and Kristel Mirasol added nine and eight points, respectively, for the Bacolod-based squad.
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“Na-challenge po kami pero thank God we prepared naman po. It was a good win,” Celis said.
The Lady Braves had their three-game winning run halted for a tie with One La Salle.
Nina Cahanap finished with eight points for Arellano.
UST and SJI-Bacolod clash on Thursday in the 1 p.m. curtain-raiser of a four-game playdate of the weeklong competition.
The top four teams after the single-round eliminations will square off in the knockout semis. The final and bronze medal matches are also winner-take-all affairs.