The UST Junior Tigresses celebrate after beating St. John's Institute-Bacolod in the final of the 2026 Shakey's Juniors National Invitationals, July 18, 2026 at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan. Handout/Shakey's
MANILA -- University of Santo Tomas overcame a tremendous challenge from St. John's Institute-Bacolod to rule the 2026 Shakey's Juniors National Invitationals, Saturday at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan.
The Junior Tigresses entered the winner-takes-all final having dropped just one set throughout the tournament, but flirted with disaster before recovering for a thrilling 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 18-25, 19-17 triumph.
Having already squandered a two-set deficit, UST faced a five-point deficit in the deciding frame before pulling off the comeback.
Most Valuable Player Nicole Pelaez unloaded 27 points on 24 kills, two kill blocks and an ace to power UST's eight-match sweep of the competition.
READ: UST, SJI-Bacolod face off for Shakey's juniors crown
Jyrah Romias added 17 points, Anneli Manzanillo scored 14 and Eliz Menchavez contributed 13 markers for the Junior Tigresses, who completed a season sweep after their breakthrough 2026 Shakey's Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 crown last May.
UST rallied from a 12-7 deficit and racked up five straight points to knot the fifth set. The Falcons moved at match point after a Pelaez service error, but Sophie Pamplona sent her serve wide for the deuce.
Romias then gave the Junior Tigresses the match point advantage in a down-the-line kill. SJI-Bacolod main hitter Caera Celis tied it at 15.
The Falcons would save two more match points before Pelaez hammered a kill, followed by a costly attack error by Kristel Mirasol that punctuated the nearly three-hour finale.
"Ang turning point ay nu'ng 12-8 (sa fifth set). Nag-iba ang body language ng mga players namin. Pero 'yun talaga sa fifth set kung sino ang mas gustong manalo at lalaban sa kanya mapupunta ang panalo," UST head coach Yani Fernandez said.
The Falcons rallied from 20-22 down in the third set as Caera Celis scored the last three points of her team's 4-0 counterattack to take the set point advantage. Romias stopped UST's bleeding but the Espana-based squad committed a costly net touch infraction that forced a fourth frame.
With momentum on its side, SJI-Bacolod played with high confidence. Celis and Edz Escultura led the way in the fourth set as the Falcons pulled away midway into the frame on their way to forcing a decider.
Celis scored 26 of her 28 points on kills, Escultura had 14 points and Mirasol finished with 13 markers for the Falcons.
The Junior Tigresses had some anxious moments in the second set after reaching set point, 24-19. The Falcons countered with a solid run in the tail end of the frame, scoring four straight points aided by UST's two miscues.
Ciarra Calfoforo perfectly timed her block to shut the door on Marteena Ferrer's attack and halt SJI-Bacolod's uprising for a 2-0 match lead.
Meanwhile, Arellano University High School turned to Cassandra Paralejas' red-hot hitting to essay a 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-19, victory over One La Salle in the battle for bronze.
Paralejas smashed 21 of her 22 points on kills while Arah Suizo and Ysabelle Borja added 12 and 10 markers, respectively, as the Lady Braves salvaged a podium finish at the expense of their elims tormentor.
Arellano got its rhythm going in the second set after a flat start on its way to the two-hour triumph.
Antonella Jayobo fired 16 points, Aislinn Alemana added 15 markers while Kylie Celada scored 12 for One La Salle, which gave the Lady Braves 36 free points off its errors.