Army outlasts Ateneo in 5, Air Force rebounds vs. NU in Shakey’s V-League Open
TEAM STANDINGS:
Philippine Army 6-1*
PLDT Home Telpad 6-1*
Cagayan Valley 5-1*
Philippine Air Force 4-3*
National University 3-4*
Ateneo de Manila University 2-4*
Philippine National Police 0-6†
University of the Philippines 0-6†
*Advanced to the Quarterfinals
†Eliminated
GAMES ON TUESDAY (July 31st at The Arena, San Juan City)
2:00PM – Philippine National Police vs. University of the Philippines
4:00PM – Ateneo de Manila University vs. Cagayan Valley
THE ARENA, San Juan City—Fresh off their recent championship run in the recently concluded Philippine Super Liga (PSL) All Filipino Conference (under the banner of Generika), The Philippine Army Lady Troopers needed every ounce of strength and experience to repel the heady Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Lady Eagles 25-22, 25-13, 28-30, 20-25, 16-14 while the Philippine Air Force snapped its two game losing skid with a convincing 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 triumph over the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs in the penultimate competition day of the Shakey’s V-League Open conference elimination round here.
First conference Finals MVP Rachel Anne Daquis scored a team-high sixteen points while her national team mates Jovelyn Gonzaga and Mary Jean Balse added fifteen markers apiece as Army tied idle PLDT Home Telpad atop the team standings with a 6-1 win-loss card while sending the Lady Eagles to solo sixth place with a record of 2-4.
It seemed that the Lady Troopers were going to make short work of the Katipuneras as they claimed the first set and dominated in the second set. However, Ateneo skipper Alyssa Valdez led a torrid comeback highlighted by her game-high 29 markers; putting her almost forty points clear of her closest pursuer in the league’s scoring race with 155 versus NU’s Jaja Santiago at 118 points—the only two players to have eclipsed the century mark in points thus far. But Valdez would have preferred the win as the Lady Eagles fought gallantly to stave off match point after match point in the third before finally extending the proceedings to a fourth set via a protracted 30-28 win. Ateneo showed more grit in the fourth canto as quicker Amy Ahomiro joined Valdez’s rampage and the steady and lethal serving of sophomore Jia Morado enabled the Lady Eagles to clinch the fourth 25-20 and send the match to a decider, to the delight of the almost two thousand fans that took full advantage of a declared holiday to catch the action live.
In the fifth set, it looked as though it was Valdez against the entire Lady Troopers squad as the 21-year-old from Batangas continued her blistering performance which, in the end, also merited an ovation from Army itself. The loss now places Ateneo at the precarious position of having to make a more than decent run in the quarterfinals to try and catch a slot to the Final Four, presently occupied by four powerhouse contingents.
Special mention goes, tough, to Ateneo libero Den-Den Lazaro whose floor defense kept the Lady Eagles in the match as she achieved a season-high in digging (21 excellent digs) to go along with her fourteen excellent receptions—35 “excellents” which could easily be a career-high in her four year stint in the league. Utility spiker Michelle Morente also displayed libero-like skills in attaining 21 “excellents” (14 excellent digs and 7 excellent receptions), but it was all for naught as Ateneo fell just short of what could have been the most monumental upset of the tournament so far.
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Newly feted PSL MVP Tina Salak got the nod for Player of the Game for her masterful all-around effort.
The Lady Eagles close out their elimination run campaign against defending titlists Cagayan Valley; hoping to snare one morale-boosting victory to make their quarters mission less harrowing.
The Lady Troopers closed out the elimination round avoiding a rare losing streak as the triumph against Ateneo rebounded them from a tough four set setback against the Rising Suns last Thursday and have less to do to attain a semifinals berth when the next round begins on Sunday (August 3rd).
In the first match, the Air Women survived several scares to diffuse any rally aspirations NU had in the end game to finish their elimination round on a positive note. Consecutive losses to Cagayan Valley and PLDT Home Telpad had Air Force reeling and the straight sets fashion of their win against the Lady Bulldogs quickly put them back on track for a semis spot.
Newly crowned PSL Best Setter Rhea Dimaculangan had another brilliant showing as she set up her teammates for easy attack points time and time again, with opener Joy Cases getting the lion’s share as the former Lyceum volleybelle topscored for her team with eleven markers—ten on kills. Quicker Maika Ortiz and opposite spiker Iari Yongco scored nine points each, while reserve May Ann Pantino continually infiltrated the NU defenses for a whopping eight points off the bench.
The Lady Bulldogs once again drew an exceptional game from former reserve Rizza Mandapat as the ultra-senior matched her season-high of thirteen points, which was decent support for their prime option Santiago who poured in a game-high fourteen points in the loss.
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NU drops to 3-4 to end their elimination round, and—like Ateneo—must now wage an uphill battle against the four top tiered squads if they have any hope of entering the next round, which will be a crossover affair.
The win propelled the Air Spikers to solo fourth, but only a full game ahead of NU and (presently as of this writing) only one and a half games abreast of the Lady Eagles. Should Ateneo win against the Rising Suns on Thursday (July 31st), the last two slots for the Final Four could shape up to be a four-horse race. However, Air Force—the silver medallists in the PSL-AFC under the auspices of RC Cola—will gladly take the win and prep themselves for the quarterfinals as they will finally be joined by former league MVP Sandra de los Santos in the roster, further bolstering their very shallow frontline.
On Thursday (July 31st) the elimination round officially draws to a close with the quarterfinals cast already set in stone.
UP and PNP duel in the opening tiff for what will be the “championship of the eliminations” as both squads have yet to pick up a win. The Lady Patrolers actually have yet to win a set in the tournament and with national team member Michelle Datuin out of the line-up (as she is presently in the United States), PNP will have its hands full against a resilient Lady Maroons squad that stretched Ateneo to five sets and stole one set against NU.
That precedes the final clash between Cagayan Valley and the Lady Eagles—who will still be without winger Ella de Jesus (re-aggravated right leg stress fracture) and Aerieal Patnongon (sprained right ankle). The Rising Suns will have starting quicker Wenneth Eulalio back in harness after she missed the last matchup against UP due to personal reasons.
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If the titanic struggle between Army and the Lady Eagles will be any indicator, Cagayan Valley could have its hands full—especially against a red-hot “phenom” who has scored 19, 19, 32, 30, 26 and 29 in Ateneo’s six prelims outings.
BOXSCORES:
Philippine Air Force def. National University – 25-21, 25-21, 25-22
PAF—Cases 11, Ma. Ortiz 9, Pantino 9, Yongco 8, Tapic 7, Dimaculangan 2, Caballejo 1, Andaya 1, Balmaceda (L) 0, Gustilo (L) 0, Semana 0, Manzano 0.
NU—J. Santiago 14, Mandapat 13, My. Pablo 9, Singh 5, Dadang 3, Perez 3, General (L) 0, G. Valdez 0.
Philippine Army def. Ateneo de Manila University – 25-22, 25-13, 28-30, 20-25, 16-14
Army—Daquis 16, Balse 15, Gonzaga 15, Bautista 11, Salak 7, Sabas 6, Agno (L) 0, Siatan-Torres 0, Bunag 0, Gonzales 0.
AdMU—A. Valdez 29, Ahomiro 14, Gequillana 7, Morado 7, Morente 7, B. de Leon 6, Lazaro (L) 0, Gaston 0, Madayag 0, Derder 0, Tan 0.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
