By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts emerged as champions in the 2025 MassKara Cup Volleyball Tournament held over the weekend at the Montalbo Court in Bacolod City.

The Thunderbolts captured the crown in the women’s category after defeating the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod Lady Stingers in a one-game championship match.

Miemelle Letran stepped up offensively for the shorthanded Thunderbolts the entire tournament to capture the Most Valuable Player and Best Open Hitter citation.

Meanwhile, Brianna Nikola Ang and Zelver Banguia were awarded the 1st and 2nd Middle Blockers, respectively, with the latter also capturing the Best Server award.

Also receiving individual awards from the Thunderbolts of Best Coach winner Roemel Taninas are Luchi Vivero as Best Libero and Jan Rose Bulak as Best Setter.

USLS Lady Stingers’ Luria Yap was hailed as the 2nd Best Open Hitter and Marteena Ferrer of St. John’s Institute – Bacolod Lady Falcons as Best Opposite Hitter.

Also forming part of the Thunderbolts squad, which is being managed by Jose Montalbo, are Shannen Bañas, Janine Mayang, Kara Feril, Ana Ysabllelle Hermosura, and Danny Saloria.

Rhose Viane Almendralejo was unavailable due to her training for the Philippine girls volleyball team, while Alexa Bertolano was nursing a minor injury.

The Thunderbolts team emerged on top in the preliminaries round before dominating their semifinals opponent to reach the finals.

The indoor volleyball tournament is just one of the several sporting events that the city is hosting in line with the MassKara Festival celebration later this month./ASC, WDJ