Cagayan Valley, Army strike first in Shakey’s V-League Open semis

SEMIFINALS MATCHES ON SUNDAY (August 24th at The Arena, San Juan City)

2:00PM – (2) PLDT Home Telpad vs. (3) Cagayan Valley (CV leads series 1-0)

4:00PM – (1) Philippine Army vs. (4) Philippine Air Force (Army leads series 1-0)

THE ARENA, San Juan City—Defending champions Cagayan Valley finally triumphed over the same PLDT Home Telpad squad that dominated them this season with a 25-11, 16-25, 25-14, 25-20 victory while the Philippine Army avenged its quarterfinal debacle against the Philippine Air Force via a 24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 win in the opening day of semifinals hostilities in the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference here.

The Rising Suns and the Lady Troopers moved within a win of its first finals showdown against each other—a match-up that has been anticipated since the inception of the Open conference in 2011, which Army won. The Game #2s are set for Sunday (August 24th).

The Air Spikers once again had veteran quicker Liza de Ramos in the starting line-up and looked to be holding her own against the Army frontliners, especially in the opening set. The one-two wing combo of May Ann Pantino and Judy Caballejo made a valiant effort to match the Lady Troopers’ firepower and claimed the first canto. But when Army Head Coach Rico de Guzman made the necessary adjustments in the second set and utilized former skipper Joanne Bunag in lieu of MVP frontrunner Rachel Anne Daquis, it was Air force that was sent backpedalling and failed to match the newfound aggression displayed by the Lady Troopers.

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Jovelyn Gonzaga—the reigning MVP of this conference—fired a game-high eighteen points and once again showed her defensive prowess with numerous blocks and digs worthy of an MVP. Cebu’s Genie Sabas also had her best game of the season with a fourteen point effort that help alleviate the burden from former MVP Mary Jean Balse on all fronts.

Daquis—last conference’s Finals MVP—alleged that her benching in the second set was more for her to have a “rest” and when the Bunag gambit worked, she took the rest of the match off. Daquis finished with only four points, but the win was more important according to the 26-year-old former Far Eastern University star.

“My legs were tired so I was rested,” Daquis said in the vernacular after the match. “The important thing is we got the win. I’ll trade any award just to be champions.”

Daquis is also leading in the Best Server race and looks to be a cinch to claim that accolade.

Air Force was led by Caballejo with sixteen markers, while Pantino finished with fifteen. Prized recruit Iya Yongco scored six points while playing off the bench in the first three sets and starting the fourth, despite a tear in her rotator cuff. She is presently complaining of severe pain on her right shoulder and is questionable for Game 2.

In the second match, Rosemarie Vargas erupted for a season-high eighteen points to lead four Cagayan Valley players in double figures as the Rising Suns moved to within a win of its third consecutive Open conference finals appearance.

Cagayan Valley looked sharp to begin the match as Vargas and fellow opener Janine Marciano effortlessly found holes in the Turbo Boosters’ defensive patterns en route to a rout. The eleven points tallied by PLDT represented their season-low and it quickly alarmed Head Coach Roger Gorayeb, who continues to employ a depleted line-up with starting quicker Charo Soriano presently out of the country.

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Gorayeb once again got a stellar performance for newest acquisition Royce Estampa as the former University of St. La Salle-Bacolod behemoth came away with a new season-high of twelve points—half of which came on well timed blocks, and mostly in the second set where the Turbo Boosters walloped Cagayan Valley.

However, the succeeding sets saw the Rising Suns display a masterful showcase of offense that PLDT had almost no answer for and Cagayan Valley finally overcame the only team they had yet to defeat the entire season—at the most critical juncture of the tournament.

With Charo still out of the roster heading into Game 2, the Turbo Boosters must find the cohesion that enabled them to register two victories against the heady defending titlists on Sunday—especially from their veteran core of MVP candidate Suzanne Roces, former MVP Louann Latigay and former Finals MVP Rubie de Leon.

Are we headed to a collision course between Army and Cagayan Valley? The last time these two teams clashed for a title was during the recently concluded Cagayan Friendship Games were the Lady Troopers—sans the legendary Tina Salak—swept the prelims only to be felled in two straight games by the Rising Suns (then reinforced by four imports) to reclaim the crown. They head never figured in a Shakey’s V-League championship and many say that this might be the year.

However, the Air Spikers and Turbo Boosters will have something to say about that as they lay everything on the line in hopes of extending the series to a decider which will happen on Tuesday (August 26th), if ever.

Personally, I believe one series will go the distance—although I’m not saying which one. With health and personnel issues plaguing both the underdogs heading into Sunday’s tiffs, it will be interesting to see which squad can dig deeper to force a rubbermatch. I will be broadcasting the games with the Remulla sisters and I’m pretty sure you will part of the captive audience (whether on online or via delayed telecast) as this conference heads into its twilight.

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On a future note, the Shakey’s V-League Invitational (featuring foreign reinforcements) is slated to begin on September 21st and now reportedly has eight teams confirmed. So it’ll just be few weeks before the country’s premier volleyball league resumes with the smoke barely clearing from the Open. Ah, volleyball is very much on the upswing and we are all benefiting from its continued growth.

See you all on Sunday at SJA. Who you got?

BOXSCORES:

Philippine Army def. Philippine Air Force – 24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 (Lady Troopers lead series 1-0)

Army—Gonzaga 18, Sabas 14, Balse 13, Bautista 11, Bunag 10, Salak 7, Daquis 4, Agno (L) 0, Siatan-Torres 0.

Air Force—Caballejo 16, Pantino 15, Ortiz 11, Cases 9, Yongco 6, Tapic 3, Dimaculangan 2, Balmaceda (L) 0, Gustilo (L) 0, de Ramos 0, Andaya 0, Semana 0.

Cagayan Valley def. PLDT Home Telpad – 25-11, 16-25, 25-14, 25-20 (Rising Suns lead series 1-0)

Cagayan Valley—Vargas 18, Marciano 16, Maizo-Pontillas 12, P. Soriano 11, Eulalio 9, Tabaquero 4, Benito 2, Sy 1, Pineda (L) 0, Saet 0.

PLDT—Roces 14, Soltones 13, Estampa 12, Latigay 9, Benting 3, Devanadera 2, de Leon 1, Gata-Pantone (L) 0.

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com