UAAP Women’s Volleyball: DLSU sweeps tourney to force stepladder, UST derails Lady Falcons

Matches Today (February 16 at the San Juan Arena):

8:00AM DLSU vs. UE (M)

10:00AM FEU vs. NU (M)

2:00PM UE vs. UP (W)*

4:00PM AdMU vs. FEU (W)*

*Aired LIVE on ABS-CBN Sports & Action channel

Smart-Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City--Let’s get the shockers of the day over with: the Tigresses foiled Adamson’s outright Final Four bid with an inspired performance that gave notice to the league that they will be solid contenders next season, and the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs came out with determined aggression and took the first set handily against the reigning queens of the UAAP. Other than that, everything else went according to the script as a crowd of more than ten thousand paying fans witnessed the penultimate day of competition in the UAAP Season 76 Women's Volleyball wars at this iconic venue.

In the first match, the awesome twosome of Pam Lastimosa and Mela Tunay had a phenomenal outing in UST’s 25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 25-15 victory over the Lady Falcons; registering eighteen and seventeen markers, respectively to lead the Tigresses’ last salvo of the season.

Already out of the running since last Wednesday’s loss at the hands of the Ateneo de Manila (AdMU) Lady Eagles, UST’s final record of 5-9 is a major drop off from their fifth place finish in Season 75 but the program is in the midst of rebuilding as Head Coach Odjie Mamon is filling in the necessary pieces to compliment his two star spikers in Lastimosa and Tunay. Marivic Meneses—who contributed eleven points—is slowly shaping up to be Maika Ortiz’s heir apparent, while Chlodia Cortez could just be the next Maru Banaticla. The Tigresses have shown that despite the lack of size, they can be a threat to the competition and proved it in their final match of the year.

Sheila “Bangnita” Pineda once again proved to everyone she is among the very best open-spikers in the archipelago with another staggering performance in her final game as a collegiate athlete. The league's scoring leader finished with a game-high 21 markers and the 5’4” wunderkind also paced her team in blocking (3) and digging (9). She and fellow outside hitter Mayette Zapanta have already exhausted their eligibility and now will have to pray for another shot to play at least one more game as students.

ALSO READ: Martinez overwhelmed by support, eyes 2018 Olympics

For the host school, the last Final Four berth may still be partially in their hands. But now they will need help from the Lady Eagles today—the last day of the prelims. Ateneo must defeat the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws for there to be a sudden-death playoff for the last slot.

Points will not be a factor here anymore as many keeping track of the statistics claim an FEU loss gives them an inferior point total to that of the Lady Falcons and that Adamson should go through.

Here’s the clarification: if there was a tie for, say, the second and third place, or even third and fourth or first and second, the tiebreakers would apply—points, sets won/lost, points won/lost, etc. But in the case of qualifying for the playoffs, a tie entails a sudden-death clash.

If Ateneo does go on to beat the Lady Tamaraws, then that sudden-death game will happen on Wednesday, February 19th.

On the other side of the coin, if FEU (6-7) manages to hand the Lady Eagles (9-4) their fifth loss of the season, then they will advance to the Final Four with a superior record and will be meeting the two-time finalists again to begin the stepladder hostilities. That premise will eliminate Adamson (6-8).

In the DLSU-NU tiff (that allegedly trended worldwide for a time), the Lady Bulldogs avenged their 8-25 first set shellacking in the first round encounter by blasting the undefeated volleybelles from Taft Avenue out of their socks in the opener, 25-14. It was only the second time the Lady Spikers dropped a set in the duration of the tournament as NU used a combination of stifling defense and committed offense to get the job done. While it was DLSU’s turn to race to an early second set lead, the Lady Bulldogs—behind the length and talent of the Santiago sisters (Din-Din—6’2” and the younger Jaja—6’5”) clawed back and tied the set at 24-all before a series of hitting errors finally gave the Lady Spikers the triumph, 26-24.

ALSO READ: Bob Arum explains Manny Pacquiao's knockout drought

However, the third set saw NU come back with almost the same brand of aggression they displayed in the opener as the Santiago sisters began getting much needed support from the vaunted firepower of outside hitters Mina Aganon and Myla Pablo and “The Supernatural” Aiko Urdas. The Lady Bulldogs erected a 12-3 edge and seemed to have found the correct momentum to cruise to a decisive edge.

But DLSU skipper Abigail Maraño willed her squad to a comeback and the silent blocking of the league’s best net defense (La Salle could only muster one block point over the first two sets) suddenly roared to life. Third year stalwarts Mika Reyes and Ara Galang helped build what is legendarily referred to as “The Great Wall of Taft” as both ladies combined for eight of the team’s ten total block points, and those Lady Bulldogs shots that somehow got through the frontline were handled easily by the rest of the team.

NU began losing their powers on the reception end as most of the Lady Bulldogs' receptions went back to DLSU for easy set-ups for Maraño, Galang and the hard-working Cyd Demecillo.

And you know Maraño will let you know when she’s done something to humiliate your defenses.

Her high intensity rubbed off on everyone on the floor as even those who came off the bench chipped-in to grab the win. It was the clutch serving of reserve spiker Denice Tan—who delivered three service aces in the clutch—that doomed NU and when the last point was delivered, the Lady Spikers spilled onto the floor to celebrate a sure finals appearance as by sweeping the preliminary round they now force a stepladder format instead of the traditional Final Four. The final line read: 14-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-20 and took almost two hours to complete.

Galang led DLSU with fifteen points, followed Maraño’s fourteen and Reyes’ eleven, while the Lady Bulldogs (already assured of a twice-to-beat edge in the semifinals) had the Santiago sisters firing fourteen (from Jaja) and thirteen markers (from Din-Din), respectively. Aganon added ten points in NU's first loss in eleven matches.

ALSO READ: UFL: Archers draw Global, Pasargad wins; Reichelt to Ceres

After the rousing victory, former two-time UAAP MVP and former DLSU captain Maureen Penetrante-Ouano had this to say:

“They played with heart and pride for the school,” the reigning Shakey’s V-League Best Blocker and Philippine Super Liga Best Quicker said. “(The) Best Player of the Game was coach Ramil (de Jesus). Magaling bumasa ng players.”

It is a fitting tribute to the vast championship experience of de Jesus’ as he calmly orchestrated the squad through some key gambits and timely adjustments that kept the Lady Spikers’ abreast in an intensely close encounter. Their poise never wavered and now they are only a couple of wins away from another historical feat.

The stepladder hasn’t happened in the women’s volleyball competition since 2012—the year Ateneo snatched a win in the first game of the Finals.

Here’s how it works:

The fourth seed (Adamson or FEU) will face off against the third seed—Ateneo—in a single knockout match. The winner of that will go up against the second seeds—NU—with the Lady Bulldogs having a twice-to-beat advantage. The winner of that matchup takes on the top seed—DLSU—in the Finals with the Lady Spikers enjoying a THRICE-TO-BEAT edge. La Salle still needs two victories to secure the crown—that’s why many of the Animo faithful became concerned when the Lady Eagles stole the first match of the Finals in Season 74.

So you can view it as a Best-Of-Five affair with DLSU already having won Game 1 and the true series beginning in Game 2. That’s how important the stepladder format meant to the Lady Spikers and that’s why they worked very hard the whole season to attain it.

Another luxury is that La Salle now has at least one full week to get rejuvenated and have some valuable practice time while their would-be opponents will be battling without rest. In short, the Lady Spikers already has one hand firmly grasping their fourth straight championship trophy after picking up their thirtieth consecutive win dating back to December of 2012. It is now literally DLSU's championship to lose.

RELATED: PH volleyball may join Asiad, the Power Pinays' imports and one zillion volleyball updates

But while La Salle and NU can now concentrate on the playoffs, today’s pair of matches will bring the season to an immense climax, starting with the opening encounter between winless University of the East (UE—0-13) and upstart University of the Philippines (UP—2-11).

After that shocking upset over FEU last week, the Lady Maroons are now out to make some more serious noise: win in back-to-back matches since—I don’t know when. A victory by the charges of new UP Head Coach Jerry Yee will virtually assure a bonfire at the renowned UP Sunken Garden, a second salvo of the Oblation Run and perhaps free Tapsilog from Rodic’s (don’t quote me on that, but Rodic’s is the bomb). Although the Lady Maroons could be highly-favored against UE, the Lady Warriors want to close another dismal season on a positive note. So that will be worth keeping an eye on.

Of course, the last match of the season pits FEU and Ateneo and this match becomes interesting for many reasons.

A very reliable source close to the Lady Eagles confided last Friday that starting open-spiker Ella “The Ellavator” de Jesus suffered a serious injury during training last Thursday and is “highly doubtful” to suit up against FEU (details of the injury were withheld at the time). This will put more pressure on “phenom” Alyssa Valdez and freshman Michelle Morente to pick up the slack as New Zealand sensation Amy Ahomiro will also have to pitch-in more. Ateneo is already playing without promising quicker Ana Gopico after a season-ending ACL injury and are actually stricken with quite a few of the walking wounded as well. There is also a reported row developing between erstwhile starting center Marge Tejada and the coaching staff, hence being a healthy DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision) in their last game against UST.

And while the plot thickens over at the Ateneo camp, there are conflicting reports that FEU’s second leading scorer Remy Palma might have mended quicker than many anticipated. Some sources say that she will suit up today, which could give the Lady Eagles more problems on defense due their already depleted frontline.

In what condition Palma will be in if she does play is another question, but even if she plays at half-strength, that’s another 5’11” issue Ateneo has to deal with.

ALSO READ: Is Andray Blatche the right one for Gilas?

But one thing is for certain: according to Ateneo team officials Valdez is keen on bagging the league’s scoring title and will not be sitting out the last game of the season—as some experts forecasted. The 21-year-old Batangas native needs only seven points to overtake present league leader Pineda and may just get that number in the first set, if she's not contained. Valdez is averaging well over twenty points per contest and would like nothing better than a victory against the Lady Tamaraws to ensure at least a six-day respite as a win forces FEU and Adamson into a sudden-death match before the stepladder commences.

Lastly, my season predictions have all but been torn apart by the final week of competition. However, it has been a blast watching high-caliber volleyball action to mess up my swami wannabe mode and I congratulate ALL the schools for putting out their hearts and souls onto the floor this entire season.

The riveting climax is upon us and today many revelations will happen. Let’s all buckle up for the homestretch. Let’s enjoy the final loop of this roller-coaster known as the UAAP Season 76 Women’s Volleyball competition.

BOX SCORES:

UST def. Adamson 25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 25-15.

UST—Lastimosa 18, Tunay 17, Cortez 14, Meneses 11, Lantin 8, de Leon 5, Santos 1, Dusaran (L) 0, Rasmo (L) 0, Cabanos 0.

AdU—Pineda 21, Zapanta 13, Villanueva 11, Alkuino 6, Cortel 2, Guevara 1, Tempiatura (L) 0, Lebumfacil (L) 0, Macatuno 0, Listana 0, Emnas 0.

DLSU def. NU 14-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-20.

DLSU—Galang 15, Maraño 14, Reyes 11, Demecillo 7, Fajardo 7, Tan 4, Cheng 1, Macandili (L) 0, Ci. Cruz (L) 0, Esperanza 0, Baron 0, Ca. Cruz 0.

NU—J. Santiago 14, D. Santiago 13, Aganon 10, Urdas 9, Perez 7, Pablo 6, Mandapat 3, General (L) 0, Valdez 0.

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