Shakey’s V-League Open: PA crushes PAF, Santiago benched as Smart-Maynilad beats Meralco

GAMES ON TUESDAY (August 27—The Arena, San Juan City)

2:00PM Cagayan Valley vs. Smart-Maynilad

4:00PM Meralco vs. FEU

THE ARENA, San Juan City—The Philippine Army opened their title redemption bid on a high note by defeating the Philippine Air Force in straight sets even as Smart (whose club name now includes sister company Maynilad) remained unscathed, beating Meralco in four sets in the ongoing preliminary round of the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference here.

Philippine Army def. Philippine Air Force—25-13, 25-22, 25-18

The Lady Troopers got off to a solid start as star new recruit Jovelyn Gonzaga almost singlehandedly kept the Airwomen at bay with timely hits, crucial blocks and a morale-boosting performance in the first set where she scored eight points en route to her game-high sixteen markers. The 21-year-old from Guimaras eventually gained the moniker the “Bionic Ilongga” for her heady showing that netted her Player of the Game honors. Former league MVP Mary Jean Balse chipped in eleven points while skipper Joanne Bunag and hybrid setter Tina Salak contributed nine apiece.

Army won the inaugural Open Conference title in 2011 but were shut out of the Finals last year by eventual champion Sandugo. Fresh off the heels of their Gold Medal performance in the recently concluded Philippine Super Liga Invitational, the Lady Troopers look to extend their run in this, the last tournament of the Shakey's V-League's tenth season.

It was an almost flawless game for Gonzaga who notched a total of six block points to lead in a department she wasn’t really known for and Salak concentrated her initial setting to Gonzaga's utility position, confusing the PAF defenses. In the latter two sets, the rest of the team bombarded the Airwomen, who were forced into committing 21 errors against Army's mere eleven.

Things looked to improve in the second set for PAF when Head Coach Clarence Esteban fielded in former De La Salle Dasmariñas stalwart Jennifer Manzano who began a torrid blitz of Army’s frontline with nine points, to share team-high honors with starting open-hitter Joy Cases. But the anticipated rally lost steam as the Lady Troopers stayed aggressive and got the victory, sending the Airwomen to their second successive setback and tie the idle Philippine National Police Lady Patrollers at the bottom of the standings.

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The most glaring problem the Airwomen will need to address very soon is the impending power struggle at the setter's position.

Former Finals MVP Rhea Dimaculangan was in action for the match and it was immediately apparent that starting playmaker Wendy Semana was going to be moved to an attacker’s role. Against Army, the ploy did not work as the presence of the former UAAP rivals did more harm than good for PAF. Since the rules of this conference does not allow registered team members to be replaced or traded, Air Force now finds itself in a dilemma they evidently did not anticipate. It will be interesting to see how this situation resolves itself as the preliminary round continues.

Army will now enjoy a week off before taking on their next assignment in the Philippine Navy on September 1. PAF locks horns with the winless FEU Lady Tamaraws on Friday.

Smart-Maynilad def. Meralco—22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 27-25

In the much awaited clash between sister teams Smart-Maynilad and Merlaco, many were wondering about the situation concerning the availability of Ateneo wunderkind Alyssa Valdez and if she was finally going to suit up and play for the “Net Spikers” (Smart-Maynilad’s new official moniker). When Valdez entered the playing court, her legions of fans let out a big cheer of support but were silenced by the fact that Valdez was in street clothes for the team’s souvenir picture taking.

Valdez, according to sources, is being kept from participating from Smart-Maynilad until she completes her stint in the upcoming UAAP Beach Volleyball tilt which has been rescheduled and will begin on August 31. That tournament will last until the third week of September and she might just see her first action for the Net Spikers during the quarterfinals.

But fans also took notice of a ninth Smart-Maynilad player in uniform and were instantly thrilled: NU's Din-Din Santiago, the reigning league scoring champion and first conference MVP.

Many were abuzz about the presence of the 6’2” pagoda and her joining the Net Spikers only made a strong line-up even stronger—and made Head Coach Roger Gorayeb look like a recruiting genius.

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However, moments before the match was to begin, officials from NU confronted Gorayeb, saying the school never authorized Santiago to play this conference. Confusion ensued in the dug-out and Gorayeb later decided to change his starting line-up (which already had Santiago listed as one of his starting middle-attackers) and opted, for the sake of clarity, to bench Santiago for the match.

“I was confronted by them (the NU officials) and they gave one reason or another why Din-Din should not be playing,” Gorayeb said in the vernacular after the game. “I didn’t want to be in the middle of another mess (referring to a previous altercation involving then San Beda College basketball Head Coach Frankie Lim) so I just decided not to play her today. Hopefully, things get worked out between Din-Din and NU because she said she really wants to play, but apparently there are issues.”

One league insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity told me that it is actually PNP that has the first rights to signing Santiago and that her suiting up for Smart-Maynilad bypasses that. The league has yet to comment on the issue, but there will definitely be explanations on or before the next game day (Tuesday, August 27).

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It was Meralco that actually paraded their fourteenth and final addition to their line-up in Chinese import Coco Wang (Wang Ke Ke--her actual name), who had just stepped off a plane from China hours before the tiff and was immediately thrust into the action by Power Spikers Head Coach Oliver Almadro without the benefit of even a walkthrough. She had to mesh on the fly.

Wang, 28, had last seen action in the Indonesian Super Liga and her signing was the last for Meralco as their roster is now officially full. Wang played college volleyball for Fresno Pacific University until half a decade ago and has been seeing action in the Asian professional circuit since. She is a 6’3” middle attacker who adds tremendous height to a Power Spikers’ formidable frontline that already boasts of former league MVP Maureen Penetrante-Ouano (6’0”), Ivy Remulla (5’10”) and reserve Zharmaine Velez (5’11”).

However, it was former Ateneo ace Fille Cainglet that began lighting up the scoreboards in the first set with her timely incursions into the Net Spikers’ frontline and her libero-like floor defense as Meralco took the opener, 25-22; marking the first time in the tournament that Smart-Maynilad had dropped a set in three matches.

Still playing with eight individuals though, the Net Spikers began dominating the next two sets, courtesy of power hits from another former league MVP Suzanne Roces and UST’s Maruja Banaticla. Wang began getting into the flow of the Meralco offense towards the tail-end of the third set and by the fourth set, she began showcasing her abilities with consistent running attacks and well-timed rejections.

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The fourth set was a classic with both teams exchanging blazing runs and featured rallies that would eclipse the one minute mark—at one point forcing Gorayeb to call a ceasefire in order for his players to catch their breaths.

With the outcome in the balance, the Net Spikers leaned on 19-year-old San Sebastian sophomore Gretchel Soltones to score on vital spikes and the youngster from Cebu delivered the final two kills for Smart-Maynilad to take the fourth set and the match, 27-25 and notch their third consecutive triumph in as many appearances, despite the depleted nature of their roster. Soltones was feted Player of the Game.

Valdez and Santiago, along with reserve setter and former Finals MVP Jem Ferrer were relegated to supporters (Alyssa turned herself into a watergirl) but it was the team spirit of the Net Spikers that allowed them to escape the clutches of this writer’s five-set curse and stay on course for a berth in the quarterfinals.

Smart-Maynilad plays in its fourth straight game day on Tuesday as they take on the also undefeated Cagayan Valley Rising Suns while Meralco hopes to get back on the winning track as they go up against the very youthful FEU in the twinbill’s main event.

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More news from the league: former DLSU star and reigning UAAP Finals MVP Michele Gumabao will make her broadcasting debut on Tuesday, just as former Ateneo MVT center AJ Pareja had his first crack at the courtside reporter slot, covering the games mentioned above.

I will be working with the greenhorn analyst while I’ve been informed that Rheena Villamor will do the courtside duties. The broadcast team is growing—because our regulars Ivy Remulla and Michelle Datuin have opted to play, while courtside applicant Melissa Gohing is still busy chasing shots headed to Zone 6.

Miakka Lim also rejoins the courtside group and will see her first action on Friday with Sev Sarmenta and Noreen Go in tow.

So for all you Michele Gumabao fans, I expect to see you in droves on Tuesday at The Arena. I’m actually nervous. I’ll be working with a bonafide star, but we all have to go through our rites of passage, right? See you on Tuesday.

BOXSCORES

PA (1-0) def. PAF (0-2)

Army—Gonzaga 16, Balse 11, Bunag 9, Salak 9, Alarca 5, Carolino 4, Siatan-Torres (L) 0.

Air Force—Cases 9, Manzano 9, Ortiz 8, Semana 5, Caballejo 4, Yongco 3, Dimaculangan 2, de Ramos 1, Balmaceda (L) 0.

Smart-Maynilad (3-0) def. Meralco (1-1)

Smart-Maynilad—Roces 17, Soltones 17, Banaticla 14, de Leon 7, Guliman 5, C. Soriano 4, Gohing (L) 0.

Meralco—Wang 18, Cainglet 15, Penetrante-Ouano 14, Morada 8, Jose 4, Mercado 4, Remulla 3, Reyes (L) 0, Quemada 0, Bello 0.

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