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UAAP: UST completes another golden double in beach volleyball

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The triumphant UST Tiger Sands. UAAP Media." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/11/28/uaap86-awarding-ust-men-and-women-bvb-5560.jpg"/><figcaption>The triumphant UST Tiger Sands. UAAP Media.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- University of Santo Tomas continues to be the gold standard of UAAP beach volleyball.The Tiger Sands outplayed National University in both the men&#x27;s and women&#x27;s finals on Tuesday at the Sands SM By the Bay to complete a &quot;golden double&quot; in the Season 86 tournaments. Tournament MVP Gen Eslapor and Sofiah Pagara put up a show as the Tiger Sands completed a six-peat in the women&#x27;s division with a 21-10, 21-17 conquest of NU&#x27;s Honey Grace Cordero and Kly Orillaneda.&quot;Very challenging lalo na sa pag-work with chesmitry dahil bagong partner,&quot; admitted Eslapor, a 24-year-old senior who is from Opol, Misamis Oriental. &quot;One month preparation buo kami ni Pia para sa UAAP.&quot;After the Hangzhou Asian Games where Eslapor played, they flipped the switch in their build-up to the UAAP.&quot;Sobrang saya kasi na-surpass namin yung challenge,&quot; said Eslapor, who won the championship with Blove Barbon in Season 85.In the men&#x27;s side, season MVP Alche Gupiteo and Rancel Varga overcame a tough second set stand by Bulldogs&#x27; James Buytrago and Alex Iraya to hammer out a 21-15, 24-22 win.It is the fifth consecutive men&#x27;s beach volleyball championship for UST. Overall, they captured their ninth women&#x27;s crown and eighth men&#x27;s crown.Eslapor used her smart plays and was on point on offense, while Pagara used her height to the hilt, delivering the championship-clinching kill to cap a scintillating first season with the Tiger Sands.Pagara and Gen Eslapor first reached the Final with a 21-12, 21-10 conquest of University of the Philippines&#x27; Euri Eslapor and Irah Jaboneta. The Final Four showdown marked the final meeting of the Eslapor sisters.Cordero and Orillaneda frustrated Far Eastern University&#x27;s Melody Pons and Sheila Kiseo, 21-16, 21-16, to secure the other berth in the title match.Kiseo replaced Gerzel Petallo, who suffered cramps while the Lady Tamaraws were trailing 14-16 in the second set. Kiseo was able to score FEU&#x27;s two points, but Cordero and Orillaneda delivered down the stretch to complete the straight-set romp.Kiseo, constantly targeted all match long by the Fighting Maroons, produced the third place-clinching hit as the Lady Tamaraws pulled off a 17-21, 25-23, 15-13 victory in an hour-long thriller for their first podium finish since securing second place in 2017.FEU&#x27;s return to the top three in the women&#x27;s side was highlighted by ending UST&#x27;s remarkable 38-match winning streak early in the season.In the men&#x27;s Final Four, Buytrago and Iraya downed FEU&#x27;s Vincent Nadera and JJ Javelona, 21-11, 21-17, while Gupiteo and Varga made quick work of Ateneo&#x27;s Jian Salarzon and Amil Pacinio, 21-12, 21-17.The Tamaraws outlasted the Blue Eagles, 21-18, 20-22, 15-9, to bag third place. It was FEU&#x27;s first podium finish since 2019 when the Jude Garcia-led squad reached the Finals.

University of Santo Tomas continues to be the gold standard of UAAP beach volleyball.