Thipachot hospitalized in Cagayan Valley win, Army snares 2nd straight in Shakey’s V-League Open q’finals

MODIFIED QUARTERFINALS TEAM STANDINGS

Cagayan Valley—6-0

Philippine Army—6-1

Smart-Maynilad—3-3

Philippine Air Force—3-4

Meralco—1-5

Philippine National Police—0-6

QUARTERFINAL GAMES ON FRIDAY (September 27 at The Arena, San Juan City)

2:00PM Philippine National Police vs. Smart-Maynilad

4:00PM Cagayan Valley vs. Meralco

THE ARENA, San Juan City—Kannika Thipachot, one of Cagayan Valley’s prized Thai imports was rushed to the hospital after the second set of the Rising Suns’ triumph over struggling Philippine Air Force, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 while the Philippine Army leaned on a conference-high 19 markers from new starter Rachel Anne Daquis to dump a slumping Meralco Power Spikers, 25-18, 25-19, 25-19 to attain its second straight win in the quarterfinal round of the ongoing Shakey’s V-League Open Conference here.

But before the matches on the second day of competition commenced, league statistics chief Sherwin Malonzo announced that the quarterfinal round carryover system was modified resulting in all matches played against eliminated squads being scrapped from the team standings. The change—akin to several international systems—took out wins registered against the Philippine Navy and the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws and focused on the matches wherein the qualifiers played against each other in the preliminary round. It hardly changed the positioning of the teams in the ongoing quarterfinal round.

Cagayan Valley came into the tiff against the Airwomen brandishing an unblemished slate, but also playing together as a unit for the first time since a bulk of the squad formed the Philippine contingent that saw action in the recently concluded Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in Nakhor Ratchasima, Thailand. The Filipinas—dubbed as the Fibr Power Pinays—finished twelfth in the tournament and had just arrived in the early morning hours last Sunday (September 23rd). They managed to squeeze in a few training sessions with their Thai reinforcements in Thipachot and setter Phomla Soraya before plunging into action against PAF, whose five-game winning streak was snapped by the idle Smart-Maynilad Net Spikers to open the quarters.

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The Rising Suns struggled at the onset as a unfamiliarity and lack of communication plagued the squad and the Airwomen took full advantage behind early aggression displayed by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) tandem of Judy Caballejo and Maika Ortiz. Air Force took the first in a close battle, 25-22. The second set saw Cagayan Valley take the aggressor’s role and rode on the hot hands of yet another UST pair in skipper Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and skipper Angge Tabaquero to tie matters up at one set apiece, 25-20.

But in between the second and third sets, many noticed that Thipachot—one of the league’s leading scorers and a serious contender for the MVP plum—was showing signs of dizziness and was being attended to with more concern by members of the Rising Suns’ staff prompting Head Coach Nes Pamilar to insert recently crowned UAAP Beach Volleyball MVP Sheila “Bangnita” Pineda into the third set starting line-up sans the 20-year-old Bangkok native.

It was later reported by television sideline girl Miakka Lim that Thipachot had been rushed to a nearby hospital after medics at the venue diagnosed her as suffering from dehydration. She did not return.

Pineda now had to fill some massive shoes in only her first game back on the indoor volleyball floor. She was instrumental in keeping the Airwomen at bay with timely hits that complimented the already steady showing being provided by Maizo-Pontillas, Tabaquero and Soraya. The Rising Suns took the next two sets and sent Air Force to its second successive loss, endangering its ambitions of crashing into the semifinal round. The idle Net Spikers have now claimed solo third place and the Airwomen need to rebound against a surging Philippine Army squad on Sunday (September 29th) to keep in step with the top tiered teams.

The victory also assured Cagayan Valley of passage into the semifinals.

Maizo-Pontillas led all scorers with eighteen points while Tabaquero and Pineda finished with thirteen and nine points, respectively. Joy Cases led the Airwomen with sixteen markers, backstopped by Ortiz’s thirteen and Caballejo’s eleven. Cagayan Valley next takes on Meralco on Friday (September 27th).

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Air Force’s hopes were slightly revived when their top pursuers also dropped a second consecutive assignment when the Power Spikers were shellacked by the Lady Troopers in the nightcap.

Daquis once again started over veteran Nene Bautista as the Lady Troopers’ lead outside hitter and was instantly on fire, going 16/36 on attacks for the match.

Army found various ways of infiltrating Meralco’s backline defenses as former Ateneo skipper Fille Cainglet was not fielded in to the game by Power Spikers Head Coach Oliver Almadro due to a bout with the flu. She was in uniform, but was apparently too sick to help out in her team’s struggles against the extremely systematic offense of the Lady Troopers.

Meralco libero Jen Reyes actually had one of her best games of the season; reaching down for what was sure to be a certified kill by the Army attackers and keeping several plays alive with the spunk and headiness she has displayed since she first saw action in the league in 2009. It wasn’t enough, however, as her the absence of her usual backline buddy provided easy opportunities for the Lady Troopers to punish the sluggish Power Spikers defense.

Daquis’s nineteen markers were supported by MVP frontrunner Jovelyn Gonzaga’s eleven points—her lowest output of the season—and nine coming from former league MVP Mary Jean Balse in the win. Meralco’s Chinese import Coco Wang led the team in scoring anew with fourteen points while former FEU standout Maica Morada added thirteen.

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Action resumes this Friday at SJA with Meralco hoping to wield the upset axe against Army while a rejuvenated Smart-Maynilad Net Spikers will look to get big games once again from the prolific pair of Alyssa Valdez and Pheenok Kesinee in an effort to deal Cagayan Valley its first loss of the season.

Thipachot’s health will still be a question coming into Friday as the Rising Suns will need all its guns against the Net Spikers; winners of three straight contests.

I will take my leave of broadcasting chores this weekend, so you guys enjoy the company of Sev, Noreen, Rheena, Anne and Bianca. I will be with you all again on Tuesday, with my steady date Michele Gumabao. The quarterfinals end on Sunday, October 6th—barring any playoff requirements—with a triple header featuring all the teams. We are coming closer to revealing the Final Four this conference. Stay with us all throughout for that.

Enjoy the saga, guys!

BOXSCORES:

Cagayan Valley (6-0) def. Philippine Air Force (3-4)

CV—Maizo-Pontillas 18, Tabaquero 13, Pineda 9, Eulalio 7, Soraya 7, Soriano 7, Thipachot 6, Saet 1, Dionela (L) 0, Benito 0, Dawis 0.

PAF—Cases 16, Ortiz 13, Caballejo 11, de Ramos 7, Manzano 5, Semana 4, Dimaculangan 2, Pantino 2, Legaspi 1, Abanto (L) 0, Andaya 0.

Philippine Army (6-1) def. Meralco (1-5)

PA—Daquis 19, Gonzaga 11, Balse 9, Salak 8, Carolino 6, Bunag 2, Alarca 2, Siatan-Torres (L) 0, Nunag (L) 0, Bautista 0, Cruz 0, Iratay 0.

MER—Wang 14, Morada 13, Penetrante-Ouano 6, de Guzman 4, Mercado 2, Remulla 2, Reyes (L) 0, Jose 0, Quemada 0.

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