Valdez arrives late, scores 27 in Net Spikers 4th straight win; Cagayan Valley edges Meralco in Shakey’s V-League Open q’finals

QUARTERFINALS TEAM STANDINGS

Cagayan Valley—7-0

Philippine Army—6-1

Smart-Maynilad—4-3

Philippine Air Force—3-4

Meralco—1-6

Philippine National Police—0-7

QUARTERFINAL GAMES ON SUNDAY (September 29 at The Arena, San Juan City)

2:00PM Philippine Air Force vs. Philippine Army

4:00PM Smart-Maynilad vs. Cagayan Valley

THE ARENA, San Juan City—After initially being informed by Smart-Maynilad team officials that open-spikers Alyssa Valdez and Gretchel Soltones were going to miss the match against the Philippine National Police (PNP) Lady Patrolers, both arrived simultaneously at the midway mark of the first set with Valdez scoring a game-high 27 markers as the Net Spikers prevailed 17-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 while league-leading Cagayan Valley used every last bullet in its arsenal to barely prevail in a 25-14, 16-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 squeaker against the Meralco Power Spikers in the quarterfinal round of the ongoing Shakey’s V-League Open Conference here.

Valdez and Soltones, both enrolled students at separate schools, were said to be likely out of commission for the crucial tiff against the unpredictable Lady Patrolers due to class commitments. After checking in together—and with very little warm-up—both promptly went to work with an array of attacks, but it still wasn’t enough to salvage the set as PNP’s Thai import Patcharee Sangmuang and league scoring leader Janine Marciano provided just enough of a lift for the Lady Patrolers to claim the first set, 25-17.

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However, the second set was a different story as Valdez, the young lady known as “The Phenom”, began her imminent eruption and an avalanche of points followed; allowing the Net Spikers to triumph in the next three sets en route to their fourth straight win and second in a row in the quarterfinals. They take on Cagayan Valley this Sunday (September 29th).

Smart-Maynilad’s own Thai reinforcement Pheenok Kesinee backstopped Valdez with nineteen points while Soltones added nine. Marciano led PNP anew with sixteen markers, while Sangmuang had fourteen and San Beda ace Frances Molina chipped-in twelve for the Lady Patrolers who now must win its final three assignments and hope that the idle Philippine Air Force squad loses its remaining three matches to forge at least a playoff for the semifinals. Step one of that quest begins on Tuesday (October 1st) against Cagayan Valley.

For Valdez, it was only her third game in the league after missing the team’s first five outings due to commitments with the Ateneo beach volleyball team. But in the three matches she has played in so far, “Bagyong Baldo” has registered scores of 28 (tied for conference best), 25 and this 27 point performance. Her scoring average of 26.7 PPG is that highest three game norm for the first three games by any player in league history, reportedly eclipsing the 25.5 average attained by San Sebastian’s Jaroensri Bualee in 2006. Whether this torrid run continues against the Rising Suns remains to be seen, but the points from Valdez have directly translated into wins for the Net Spikers, who are slowly emerging as the team-to-beat with three matches left in this round.

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In the second match, Kannika Thipachot returned to the Cagayan Valley line-up after being hospitalized in their previous encounter against the Philippine Air Force due to a slight case of dehydration. The 20-year-old Bangkok native unloaded 28 points, tying Valdez’s conference high in a harrowing win for the Rising Suns against a highly determined—and very desperate—Meralco Power Spikers. It was the second five-set tester for Cagayan Valley, but this was the one that almost got away.

After blasting the Power Spikers easily in the first set, Meralco unleashed a series of unanswered offensives in the second set that left the Rising Suns in disarray. The onslaught, led by Chinese import Coco Wang and open-spikers Stephanie Mercado and a healthy Fille Cainglet, allowed Meralco to wallop Cagayan Valley 25-16; representing its most lopsided loss in a set this season.

The third set saw national team veterans Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and skipper Angge Tabaquero puncturing the defenses of Meralco repeatedly and with Thipachot still firing from all angles, the Power Spikers yielded the set 25-22.

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In the fourth set, the floor defense of star libero Jen Reyes played a vital role for Meralco as it stayed toe-to-toe with the unblemished league-leaders. Maica Morada provided some key infiltrations and Wang began to dominate at the net. The tug-of-war struggle saw Meralco clinch it 25-23 for its third such five –setter of the season. The Power Spikers had won their previous two matches that went the distance. Reyes’ amazing reception was the catalyst for the fourth set triumph as she went on to finish with a conference-high 28 excellent receptions in the match.

The steadier team in the fifth set, however, were the Rising Suns as a few unforced errors against Meralco did them in and Cagayan Valley escaped with its second five-set victory against a cellar-dweller, but still remains the only unbeaten team in the tournament.

Thipachot was supported by 21 Tabaquero points while Maizo-Pontillas contributed sixteen of her own. Wang led the Power Spikers with 21 markers—enough for her to reclaim the scoring lead in the conference—while Morada, Mercado and Cainglet added twelve, eleven and ten points apiece, respectively. Meralco now needs help advancing to the semifinals by virtue of sweeping its remaining matches and losses by its closest competitors. But the five-set setback against the Rising Suns brought with it many positives. They have a full week’s rest before taking on winless PNP on Friday (October 4th).

The back-to-back losses dealt to the Philippine Air Force have now become a huge factor in the formation of the Final Four. With only Cagayan Valley and the Philippine Army assured of spots in the next round, it will be a dog fight for the final two berths and it looks like it will go down the wire culminating with the final triple-header of the quarters next Sunday (October 6th).

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Will we be having a playoff for a final seat in the semis, or will the semis begin on October 8th? Brace yourselves for a great windup. Now, truly, every game counts.

BOXSCORES:

Smart-Maynilad (4-3) def. Philippine National Police (0-7)

SM-M—Valdez 27, Kesinee 19, Soltones 9, C. Soriano 8, Roces 4, Guliman 2, Ferrer 2, de Leon 1, Gohing (L) 0, Banaticla 0.

PNP—Marciano 16, Sangmuang 14, Molina 12, Dave 6, Datuin 4, Concepcion 1, Tadeo (L) 0, Remigio 0.

Cagayan Valley (7-0) def. Meralco (1-6)

CV—Thipachot 28, Tabaquero 21, Maizo-Pontillas 16, Eulalio 9, P. Soriano 5, Soraya 4, Benito 1, Dionela (L) 0, de los Santos 0, Pineda 0, Saet 0.

MER—Wang 21, Morada 12, Mercado 11, Cainglet 10, Penetrante-Ouano 9, Jose 1, Reyes (L) 0, Quemada 0.

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