San juan: University of Santo Tomas downed St. John's Institute-Bacolod, 25-17, 25-23, Thursday to sweep the elimination round and secure the No. 1 seed in the semifinals of the 2026 Shakey's Juniors National Invitationals.

According to Philippines News Agency, Anelli Manzanillo scored eight points, including four in the second set, as the unbeaten Junior Tigresses wrapped up the match in 70 minutes at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan. UST, the reigning Shakey's Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 champion, faces the fourth-seeded squad in the knockout Final Four on Friday at the same venue starting at 4 p.m.

Nicole Pelaez led UST with 10 points, all on attacks. Trailing 20-21 in the second set, UST relied on Manzanillo's back-to-back attacks and Pelaez's powerful spike to grab the lead at 23-21. UST's Eliz Menchavez made an error as SJI-Bacolod moved to within 22-23, but Manzanillo scored on a block to put UST at match point, 24-22. SJI-Bacolod saved a match point when UST committed another error before Manzanillo scored on a block against Caera Celis to seal the win.

"We learned in these preliminaries how to really give our best effort to get that one point," Manzanillo said. "We know the other team has been training too, so we need to execute the right moves and really deliver our best game," she added. Celis led SJI-Bacolod with seven points while Edz Escultura and Eileen Yanson chipped in five points each.

Meanwhile, Perfect Set Dream Makers outlasted Pusong Azul, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12, to end a five-game slump. Nizmund Manalad scored 11 points while Naomi Barbosa and Victoria Anderson contributed seven points each for the California-based squad in the one-hour, 20-minute encounter. Briana Mendoza and Juliana Peregrino finished with 11 points for Pusong Azul.