The UST Tiger Spikers ruled the PNVF Challenge Cup after shocking the Cignal HD Spikers in a thrilling five-set game, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13 on Saturday, Nov. 25, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

UAAP’s reigning MVP, Josh Ybañez, led the pack with 25 big points out of 24 attacks and one service ace, while Gboy De Vega tallied 21 points built on 19 spikes, a block, and an ace.

It was an upset for the ages, considering Cignal's pedigree, including six Spikers' Turf titles and one PNVF Champions' League gold medal.

UST’s head coach, Odjie Mamon, said he did not expect their team to win since they were up against a championship-caliber professional team.

“Prior to this match and entering this tournament, I instructed the players to manage [their] expectation[s] and then play within the system,” the head coach said. “Ang goal [lang] namin dito is master-in ang system tapos perfection-in ang plays.”

But through the team’s resilience during the crucial juncture of the last set, they prevailed over the HD Spikers.

“Masaya ako especially during the fifth set, even though we’re behind, kasi they [stepped] up and they enjoyed the set, may nadulas pa nga kaka-celebrate eh,” coach Odjie added.

The momentum was still on the side of the HD spikers during the earlier part of the last set, but UST eventually caught up and cut Cignal’s lead to one, 7-8.

De Vega was able to tie the game at 13 after his powerful down-the-line hit.

It was then followed by a block from Yambao that brought UST to the championship point and another kill block from the team that won the gold medal match.

Before the fifth set, the team had difficulties reading Cignal’s attacks and had no block during the opening set.

UST’s offense also had difficulty breaking their opponent's formidable net defense, forcing them to commit errors.

The Tiger Spikers lost set one by five points after giving the HD Spikers six free points, punctuated by an attack error from Ybañez to end the set.

UST had a five-point lead early in the second frame, however, following the second technical timeout, the Tiger Spikers had poor receptions, allowing Cignal to reduce the lead to tie the game.

Opposite spiker Sherwin Umandal, brought the lead back to UST through a strong attack, which was followed by Cignal’s error to take set two.

In the latter part of the third set, the HD Spikers had some more crucial errors, while UST’s open hitters carried the momentum sparked by star setter Dux Yambao.

Ybañez ended set number three, this time with his signature back-row attack.

The Golden Spikers could have won the game in four sets, but the HD Spikers showed their veteran wits and started the set strong with two consecutive service aces, 0-2.

Similar to the story in the first set, Cignal displayed their attacking prowess against UST, which eventually forced the game to a fifth and deciding set.

The fourth set concluded after Ybanez’s placement shot came short and into the net.

Cignal dominated the set, tallying two more points in every skills department.

The PNVF championship is the Tiger Spiker’s first crown since 2018's Unigames.

Golden Spiker Josh Ybañez was named PNVF Challenge Cup’s first-best open hitter and the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). It was Ybanñez’s third MVP title with UST.

“Sobrang 'di rin ako makapaniwala kasi nga sobrang lakas ng kalaban namin and then of course sobrang tatangkad nila, ako ganito ako kaliit pero ayun nga parang sa tulong ni Lord, sa tulong ng teammates ko, [and ng] coaches ko nagawa ko ‘to lahat, thank you so much,” Ybanñez said.

Also on the list of individual awardees are De Vega, with his second-best open hitter award, Colinares, who won the second-best middle award, and the younger Umandal, who was awarded as the league’s best opposite hitter.

Winning their pre-season tournament, super-sophomore Ybañez said, “Gagawin namin ang lahat [para] maibalik namin ang korona sa Espana ulit sa UAAP.” -with reports from Christian David Ruiz