Shakey’s V-League q’finals: Adamson defeats UST to enter semis, eliminates Ateneo and Davao

FINAL QUARTERFINAL TEAM STANDINGS

Group 1:

#1 Adamson 2-1*

#2 UST 2-1*

Ateneo 1-2

Davao 1-2

*Deadlock resolved via “Win Over The Other” rule

Group 2:

#1 NU 3-0

#2 FEU 2-1

Arellano 1-2

St. Benilde 0-3

SEMIFINAL GAMES ON SUNDAY—Game #1 of Best-Of-Three Series (May 11th at The Arena, San Juan City)

2:00PM Adamson vs. FEU

4:00PM NU vs. UST

THE ARENA, San Juan City—The Adamson University Lady Falcons showed their true grit and impeccable floor defense against perhaps one of the best offensive teams in the league as it snapped the five game winning streak of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses via tightly contested 25-18, 25-23, 25-27, 25-22 to enter the semifinal round of the ongoing Shakey’s V-League first conference here.

Earlier, the defending champions National University (NU) made short work of the slumping College of St. Benilde 25-11, 25-14, 25-17 to sweep its group and set up a classic Best-Of Three semis showdown against UST which dropped to the second seed entering the crossover phase due to the loss to the Lady Falcons.

There was a lot of confusion on how the final ranking would be determined and there were some sectors that believed whether or not the Tigresses prevailed in their last quarterfinal assignment that they would still emerge as Group 1’s top seed and avoid an early clash with the reigning queens of the league.

But league tiebreak rules were very clear: in the event of a tie between only two teams, the “Win Over The Other” rule takes effect and hence UST was relegated to the second seed with the loss.

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The triumph by Adamson also eliminated last year’s finalists the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Lady Eagles and crowd favorites the Davao Lady Agilas from the competition and avoided a complicated stepladder playoff.

It was only the second time in the Alyssa Valdez era that the Lady Eagles failed to advance to the Final Four and first since the 2010 second conference—Valdez’s rookie year.

Former Thai national team captain Patcharee Saengmuang was the major catalyst in the Lady Falcons victory as she found ways to go around the vaunted UST net defenses—led by Best Blocker frontrunner Ria Meneses—and also did her part in uplifting the legendary Adamson floor defenses, along with closet libero Sheila Pineda and surprise starter Amanda Villanueva.

Saengmuang lit it up for a season-high 27 markers which more than fended off the UST counterattack led by 16-year-old wunderkind Ennajie Laure and skipper Pam Lastimosa. So effective was Saengmuang’s offense that Meneses was limited to only two block points—half of her tournament average—and hit at an astonishing 25 for 57 attempts.

Pineda’s low percentage offensive performance was overshadowed by her incredible floor presence as she garnered a season-high twenty excellent digs which frustrated the usually consistent UST attackers. And while Meneses had difficulty controlling the net stands of the Tigresses, incoming junior Mylene Paat had a virtuoso stint on the other end; coming away with four massive block points and had the the España lasses looking elsewhere for points.

While Laure, Lastimosa and utility-spiker Mela Tunay churned out their regular numbers, they just had no answer for Saengmaung; who also was feted as Player of the Game.

Adamson is now officially the hottest team in the league after capturing its sixth consecutive victory after that lone opening day loss against the Katipuneras. Guest players Saengmuang and Pau Soriano (as if she ever left) have blended well with the regulars and the Lady Falcons’ innate defensive prowess will give semis opponent the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws a challenging series.

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For UST, they now have to dig deep if they intend to upend the Lady Bulldogs—a team they have not beaten all year long.

With the addition of superstar libero Jen Reyes joining forces with last year’s Finals MVP Rubie de Leon, NU looks to be slightly favored against the six-time league champions. However, many observers have pointed to Laure’s rapid development as a possible X-Factor in their series. Their lone meeting of the tournament had the Lady Bulldogs prevailing by outlasting UST in five sets, so this could be the series to keep a close eye on.

The FEU-Adamson tiffs will also carry additional interest as the Lady Tams—making only their fourth appearance in the semifinals since the inception of the league—have gotten two gems of reinforcements in national team stalwarts Jovelyn Gonzaga (the reigning open conference MVP) and alumna Rachel Anne Daquis to allegedly support the regulars led by MVP candidate Bernadeth Pons, Best Setter frontrunner Yna Papa, Best Spiker contender Remy Palma and Best Libero aspirant Tin Agno. Many look forward to the excellent floor defenses of both squads to play an important factor in determining the winner of this series.

In NU’s lopsided triumph over the Lady Blazers in the opener, national team pagoda Jaja Santiago crushed all opposition with a game-high eighteen points while the wing combination of Myla Pablo and Aiko Urdas contributed eleven and ten points, respectively.

St. Benilde skipper Therese Veronas injured her left ankle early in the match and could not be the steady factor she always was and had to be lifted in the third set as the pain hampered her mobility. Center Jeanette Panaga led the Lady Blazers with eight points in the season-ending defeat. National team pool member Jannine Navarro was once again held out of the match for medical reasons.

And so now, there are only four teams left—all from the UAAP. The irony of this all is that the only other UAAP team in the competition that was eliminated happened to be the defending champions, but many have called Ateneo’s early elimination a probable “blessing in disguise”.

“If it’s time to rest, it’s time to rest,” a deflated Amy Ahomiro told me after Adamson officially booted them out. “We wanted to play some more sana but it’s done.”

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Even the Lady Agilas—whose celebrated setter En-En Raterta and leading scorer Mitch Agton also arrived at the venue to witness their playoff hopes snuffed out—will leave for their hometown leaving a lasting memory of the rugged brand of volleyball they displayed for the mainstream audiences in Manila and across the globe. A team official confided that they will be back next conference, bringing with them more of the hidden treasures of the region. I, for one, would like to see them again.

So here we go.

Can FEU make it to its first ever Finals appearance? Can Daquis finally win a title for her school—four years after she graduated? Can Gonzaga finally win that elusive first place trophy?

Can Adamson emerge as the surprise of the tournament? How far can Saengmunag’s vast experience and leadership skills take the young Lady Falcons? Will Pineda and Macatuno enter their regular careers with the whole enchilada?

Can UST finally deal the Lady Bulldogs a loss? Can they make it two losses? Are they pinning their hopes on a teenage sensation or will Lastimosa, Tunay and former Finals MVP Rhea Dimaculangan win a seventh crown for the Tigresses?

Can NU succeed in their first crack at a title-defense? Is the addition of Reyes enough to bring them back to the Promised Land? Will the Santiago sisters prove that height is might anew? Was the coaching change to begin the season the correct move for the Lady Bulldogs?

The old cliché goes: “Four Teams, One Goal”; A race to two for a shot at the biggest race to two in women’s volleyball.

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Who you got?

I’ll be working the Game 1s with the Remulla sisters on Sunday. Looks like I’ll be using that hashtag #ItsForTheFans quite a bit starting this weekend.

Here we go.

BOXSCORES:

National Univeristy (3-0) def. College of St. Benilde (0-3)—25-11, 25-14, 25-17

NU—J. Santiago 18, Pablo 11, Urdas 10, Aganon 7, Mandapat 4, Perez 2, D. Santiago 2, Dadang 2, Reyes (L) 0, General (L) 0, Valdez 0, R, de Leon 0, Salibad 0.

CSB—Panaga 8, Datuin 6, Musa 4, Gequillana 3, Veronas 2, Loren 1, Enclona (L) 0, Cheng 0, Ramos 0, Mangansakan 0.

Adamson University (2-1) def. University of Santo Tomas (2-1)—25-18, 25-23, 25-27, 25-22

AdU—Saengmuang 27, Soriano 14, Pineda 13, Paat 10, Macatuno 5, Villanueva 5, Cortel 1, Tempiatura (L) 0, Lebumfacil 0, Galanza 0, Emnas 0, Alkuino 0.

UST—Laure 21, Lastimosa 18, Tunay 13, J. de Leon 7, Meneses 6, Cortez 4, Dimaculangan 3, Dusaran (L) 0, Cabanos 0, Palec 0, Lantin 0.

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