Shakey’s V-League Open: Cagayan Valley deals Ateneo yet another 5-set loss, UP exits with win vs. PNP
FINAL ELIMS TEAM STANDINGS:
Cagayan Valley 6-1*
Philippine Army 6-1*
PLDT Home Telpad 6-1*
Philippine Air Force 4-3*
National University 3-4*
Ateneo de Manila University 2-5*
University of the Philippines 1-6†
Philippine National Police 0-7†
*Advanced to the Quarterfinals
†Eliminated
GAMES ON TUESDAY (August 2nd at The Arena, San Juan City)
2:00PM – National University vs. Philippine Air Force
4:00PM – Ateneo de Manila University vs. PLDT Home Telpad
THE ARENA, San Juan City—The final day of the elimination round of the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference here brought with it high-drama and milestones for two developing teams as defending champions Cagayan Valley went through the proverbial eye of the needle to survive yet another gutsy but fruitless stand by reigning UAAP titlists the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Lady Eagles 16-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10 even as the young University of the Philippines (UP) finally crashed into the win column via a pulsating 25-23, 24-26, 25-12, 26-24 triumph over the hard-fighting Philippine National Police Lady Patrolers.
The Lady Maroons—who had won a set over the idle National University (NU) and stretched the Lady Eagles to five sets before losing—had shown a lot of overnight maturity in their short stint in the tournament, which is part of their training for the upcoming UAP Season 77 women’s volleyball wars this coming November.
UP Head Coach Jerry Yee said that the team’s overall performance has exceeded his expectations and the win over PNP gave them the necessary confidence moving forward.
Yee, known as "the setter factory" for having the reputation of producing quality playmakers as the Head Coach of Hope Christian High School, singled out freshmen Jewel Lai and Arielle Estrañero as those who really blossomed in their sortie and expressed optimism about the rapid progress his wards have achieved in such a short span of time.
“The girls have matured a lot,” the sophomore State U mentor said. “The two that really stood out have been Lai and Estrañero and they can help make an impact (in the UAAP).”
The teenage duo played an instrumental role in the exit win against PNP, but it was the consistent presence up front by quickers Angeli Araneta and Kathy Bersola along with the wing bombs of former setter Nicole Tiamzon that were the major catalysts in the victory.
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Araneta (5th year) and Bersola (3rd year) led the Lady Maroons with season-highs of 21 points apiece while Tiamzon chipped-in twenty as UP—with the exception of a third set romp—almost literally had to bleed for every point as the Lady Patrolers bucked the absence of national team member Michelle Datuin and draw inspired performances from leading scorer Frances Molina and a resurgent Gecca Perez.
When it looked like the Lady Maroons were poised to snatch the second set having reached match point first at 24-22, Molina and Perez colluded for the final four points of the set to give PNP the breakthrough they needed: a won set (26-24). The Lady Patrolers are greaing up for the upcoming AFP-PNP Olympics and their squad is beginning to come together and look more formidable for that meet.
Prior to the tiff against the Lady Maroons, PNP had lost eighteen consecutive sets they finally triumphed in their twentieth try and Head Coach Argie Dave will use that positive result moving forward. Molina came away with a game-high 23 markers, while Perez notched a season-high thirteen in the four set defeat.
Both UP and PNP, however, will not be moving on to the quarterfinals, hence their final showdown was their final appearance of the conference. They made the clash one of the better matches of the season.
In the second match, Ateneo set a league record for most five-set appearances by a team by participating in their fourth full distance game eclipsing the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta (UPHSD) record of three during the 2011 first conference. The disheartening part for the Lady Eagles is that their record dropped to 1-3 in those matches and finished the elimination round at dead last among the qualifiers at 2-5; making their upcoming quarterfinals mission a harrowing one if they intend to crash into the semifinals.
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The Katipuneras came out with guns blazing as they quickly bamboozled the sluggish Rising Suns with a variety of attacks led by skipper Alyssa Valdez and veteran quicker Amy Ahomiro. So sloppy was the opening set for Cagayan Valley that they managed to attain only six attack points. Their offense is ranked as second best in the league behind that of the Philippine Army but were held to a season-low sixteen points in the first set.
Towards the end of the first canto, Cagayan Valley Head Coach Nes Pamilar dispatched team captain Angge Tabaquero to spell the unusually ineffective Janine Marciano and the complexion of the match began changing drastically in favour of the Rising Suns.
When Tabaquero entered the game, she wasn’t her usual smiling self and when the Lady Eagles went on to win the first, Tabaquero’s expression turned from stoic to fierce. She began staring down the younger opposition in the second set and was a vital cog in holding Valdez down to a mere three points after opening the match with nine points. Taking the cue from their skipper, Rising Suns stalwarts Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Pau Soriano and Rosemarie Vargas began finding holes in the Ateneo defenses and the consistent reception and digging the Lady Eagles displayed en route to the first set win all but disappeared due to the unbridled aggression shown by the seasoned reigning queens of the conference.
That trend continued in the third set, but Valdez and the sophomore duo of Michelle Morente and Kim Gequillana began to wax hot. Ateneo outscored the Rising Suns 16-9 in the third set, but committed a whopping eleven errors as opposed to only by Cagayan Valley and failed to capitalize on their rekindled firepower.
In a nip and tuck fourth set that saw a libero battle between Lady Eagles’ Den-Den Lazaro and Cagayan Valley’s “converted” Sheila “Bangnita” Pineda, it was actually the Rising Suns that reached match point first at 24-22. But like the showing Ateneo had against the talent-laden Lady Troopers, Valdez and Ahomiro once again conspired to tie it up at 24 all to send the fourth into a deuce affair. Gequillana put the Lady Eagles at set point with a bomb to the backrow, capping a 3-0 run. Cagayan Valley fought valiantly to put the pressure on the Lady Eagles, but in the end a miscommunication error between Soriano and Vargas gave Ateneo the break they needed to send it to a decider once again.
Ateneo took off quickly in the fifth set and raced to a 5-2 lead behind Valdez’s unrelenting power shots. Then, suddenly, the Lady Eagles’ guns fell silent as Cagayan valley unleashed a decisive 10-1 run led by Tabaquero, Maizo-Pontillas and the phenomenal net defense of Soriano. Ateneo never recovered and ended up with their third heartbreaker that went the distance.
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Maizo-Pontillas led Cagayan Valley in scoring with seventeen points, while Soriano and Vargas contributed twelve markers each.
Valdez had another prolific outing for the Lady Eagles with thirty points—her third thirty point performance of the conference—and now ups her league-leading scoring total to 185 points through seven matches played. Her scoring average has now soared to 26.4 PPG and is now approaching Jaroensri Bualee proportions. Ahomiro finished with a season-high eighteen points, while Gequillana added eleven. Morente finally broke back into double-figures after a two game slump with ten.
The win placed the Rising Suns into a three-way tie for the top spot with idle Philippine Army and PLDT Home Telpad and look good to snare a semis slot as they will need to just maintain their present course.
The format of the quarterfinals will have the wins garnered against the eliminated sqyads stricken from the standings hence here’s how the slates look like heading into Sunday (August 3rd):
Cagayan Valley 4-1
Philippine Army 4-1
PLDT Home Telpad 4-1
Philippine Air Force 2-3
National University 1-4
Ateneo de Manila University 0-5
The remaining six teams will engage each other in a single round robin affair with the top four teams advancing to the crossover best-of-three semifinals. Those series will begin on August 19th (should there be no need for a playoff).
The top three teams look to have an almost guaranteed seat in the semifinals, but then again they could fall into peril if the bottom rung squads begin getting hot.
The initial “Magic Number” looks to be “6”, meaning the team that gets to up their record to six wins ensures its semis slot with utmost certainty. However, the fourth slot looks to be up for grabs as the lower three teams are separated by just two games. Air Force has the best chance of repelling its competitors for that last slot, but have to play almost flawlessly to get that done.
The Air Spikers open their bid for that coveted semis berth against fellow bottom team NU on Sunday. A win by PAF will put the heat on NU and Ateneo, but a win for the Lady Bulldogs could be the difference maker to keep their flickering hopes alive, and with a very young line-up devoid of any guest players, that could give NU a major shot in the arm in terms of their developmental plans.
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For Ateneo, it’s beginning to look like one loss could render their remaining quarterfinal matches non-bearing. They begin the quarters against the only team that stopped them in straight sets: PLDT Home Telpad.
Here’s the full quarterfinal round schedule:
So here we go, folks.
It looks like the same cast of characters pulling away akin to last year’s results, but with that fourth slot still in question anything can and will happen.
Will you be there to witness the drama? The saga continues…
BOXSCORES:
University of the Philippines def. Philippine National Police – 25-23, 24-26, 25-12, 26-24
UP—Araneta 21, Bersola 21, Tiamzon 20, Mo. Ortiz 9, Lai 3, Sandoval 3, Ilustre 3, Estrañero (L) 0, Gaiser (L) 0, Magtalas 0, Ong 0.
PNP—Molina 23, A. Perez 13, Maderazo 9, Martinez 6, Dave 6, Saligao 3, Ticar 1, Tadeo (L) 0, Concepcion 0.
Cagayan Valley def. Ateneo de Manila University – 16-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10
Cagayan Valley—Maizo-Pontillas 17, P. Soriano 12, Vargas 12, Tabaquero 11, Sy 4, Eulalio 3, Benito 3, Pineda (L) 0, Marciano 0, Dawis 0, Saet 0.
AdMU—Valdez 30, Ahomiro 18, Gequillana 11, Morente 10, Morado 7, B. de Leon 5, Madayag 2, Derder 1, Lazaro (L) 0, Gaston 0.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
