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Army wins Shakey’s V-League Open title, Gonzaga named Finals MVP

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THE ARENA, San Juan City—After a dominant showing in Game 1, the Philippine Army Lady Troopers came out with guns blazing to trounce erstwhile titlists Cagayan Valley 25-14, 25-7, 25-23 to win the Shakey’s V-League Open championship before a capacity crowd here.

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It was the second crown for the Lady Troopers after winning the inaugural Open title in 2011 with almost the same line-up. From that roster, only superstar libero Jen Reyes was not part of this squad for this second trophy as perhaps the most experienced women’s volleyball team in the country hardly relaxed in the conquest of this championship.

The Lady Troopers immediately snared the initiative with a hot start on offense and even won a series of long rallies against the younger and more mobile Rising Suns. New crowned league MVP Rachel Anne Daquis led the early charge as Army never looked back after pulling away at the midway mark of the first canto.

If the Lady Troopers’ onslaught in the first set was impressive, the second set was even more grizzly for Cagayan Valley as they were held to only seven points as the Army defenses just would not let them generate any form of offense. The middle hitter of the Lady Troopers began clicking as former league MVP Mary Jean Balse conspired with Cebu’s Genie Sabas in helping out the wingers totally bamboozle the 2013 champions.

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With Army on the crest of their first title in three years, the frenzied crowd in attendance were anticipating a sizzling start.

It came, from Cagayan Valley.

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Rising Suns’ skipper Angge Tabaquero energized the squad with two aggressive kills and former college teammate Aiza Maizo also began awakening from her game-long slumber as Cagayan Valley began dictating the tempo and were looking to force the match into a fourth set. However in the end, Daquis and eventual finals MVP Jovelyn Gonzaga rekindled their brilliance and Army held off the desperate last gasp of the Rising Suns en route to the title.

Gonzaga, last year’s conference MVP, was unanimously voted as Finals MVP after leading the Lady Troopers in scoring in their game 1 victory (19 points) and one of three players coming away with thirteen markers in the season-ending triumph.

As soon as the final point was put away by Daquis, the entire squad spilled onto the floor and began celebrating. Daquis and Gonzaga—who had helped the Far Eastern University (FEU) capture its first ever league championship—embraced each other and wept in each other’s arms as a phalanx of photographers snapped away at the poignant moment.

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For Cagayan Valley, it was a bittersweet end to a roller coaster season that saw them share the top spot after the elimination round, drop four of their five quarterfinal matches and sweep the Philippine Air Force convincingly to get a shot at defending their title. The squad had gotten stronger with the acquisition of FEU setter Gyzelle Sy, San Beda scoring machine Janine Marciano and Adamson gunner turned libero Bang Pineda in one of the teams to look out for in the import-laden Shakey’s V-League Invitational which kicks off on September 21st.

In the battle for the bronze medal, PLDT Home Telpad clobbered Air Force in straight sets 25-18, 25-23, 25-15 to capture third place via a superior quotient.

First conference MVP Din-Din Santiago scored a game-high nineteen points while former MVP Louann Latigay added eleven and Santiago’s college teammate Mina Aganon returned from a family vacation to contribute nine as the Turbo Boosters achieved their goal of a podium finish.

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For the upcoming Shakey’s V-League Invitational, the league has disclosed that six teams have already signed-up while negotiations are still ongoing with at least two more teams, although league insiders have confided that there could be ten teams seeing action in a few weeks.

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Congratulations to the Lady Troopers! See you all On September 21st for the Shakey’s V-League Invitational!

BOXSCORES:

(Bronze Medal Series) PLDT Home Telpad def. Philippine Air Force – 25-18, 25-23, 25-15 (Turbo Boosters win series via superior quotient)

PLDT—D. Santiago 19, Latigay 11, Aganon 9, Roces 4, Devanadera 3, R. de Leon 3, Soltones 1, Gata-Pantone (L) 0, Estampa 0, Benting 0.

PAF—Cases 9, Ortiz 9, Caballejo 8, Tapic 8, Pantino 6, Dimaculangan 3, Yongco 2, Semana 1, Balmaceda (L) 0, Andaya 0, Manzano 0.

(Gold Medal Series) Philippine Army def. Cagayan Valley – 25-14, 25-7, 25-23 (Lady Troopers win series/championship 2-0)

Army—Balse 13, Daquis 13, Gonzaga 13, Bautista 10, Sabas 6, Salak 6, Agno (L) 0, Siatan-Torres 0.

Cagayan Valley—Maizo-Pontillas 8, P. Soriano 5, Eulalio 4, Vargas 4, Benito 4, Marciano 3, Tabaquero 3, Pineda (L) 0, Gillego (L) 0, Saet 0, Sy 0, Dawis 0, Guevara 0.

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