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V-League: Arellano triumphant, UST avoids playoff as quarterfinals wrap up
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MJ Balse (C) of Arellano celebrates a point at the Lady Patriots' expense. KC Cruz
(Updated 7:33pm) The Arellano University Lady Chiefs and the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses finished the quarterfinals round with wins, Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Arena, heading into the Shakey's V-League semifinals round, which features an all-UAAP cast of UST, Adamson, Ateneo and NU.
In the first game, the Arellano Lady Chiefs stood victorious against the La Salle Dasmarinas Lady Patriots after four sets 25-22, 25-17, 26-28, and 25-22. It was Arellano's first and only win of the quarters, improving their record to 1-2, while La Salle Dasmarinas dropped out sans a victory, 0-3.
The Lady Chiefs were off to a good start care of the hard-hitting offense delivered by guest player Nene Bautista and MJ Balse. Unfortunately, their service errors kept the Lady Patriots closer than they should be, as Arellano found themselves ahead by only one point at the first technical timeout, 8-7.
With La Salle Dasmarinas inching closer, other members of the Lady Chiefs stepped up, as Danna Henson and Elaine Sagun kept their composure and gave Arellano some separation at 20-15.
The Lady Patriots attempted a comeback, with a 5-1 scoring run led by Monique Tiangco to keep them in the set at 21-20. However, the rally fell short against the ever-feisty Henson, as she delivered for the Lady Chiefs with her sheer athleticism, to take the set at 25-22.
Arellano kicked off the second set with a 4-0 advantage on the back of the Balse-Henson tandem. La Salle Dasmarinas answered back quickly with a 4-0 scoring run behind their own scoring tandem of Tiangco and Lari Yongco.
With a tightly-contested set on the way, Sagun of the Lady Chiefs made sure her team pulled away easily, as her hustle on the court brought Arellano ahead at 13-6.
Despite the deficit, the Lady Patriot’s intensity boosted thems back into the game at 13-12, with key defensive plays by Jessa Fernandez and cleanly-hit spikes from guest player Jennifer Manzano.
However, just like the first set, the Lady Chiefs had too much talent, as their starters Sagun, Balse, Henson and Bautista found ways to emphatically connect on their attacks, letting Arellano cruise to an easy 25-17 set win.
The Lady Patriots started the third set with a larger sense of urgency, resulting in them grabbing a quick 7-4 lead. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to maintain their advantage, as Sagun immediately took command of the lead at 8-7.
The set remained close by the second technical timeout, as the Lady Chiefs still held on to a one-point lead, 16-15. The Lady Patriots however eventually took the lead, behind a spark from Mariebeth Lara in the service zone, who made it 19-17.
The set boiled down to a 19-all deadlock, with the Arellano Lady Chiefs determined to finish the match in three sets. From that point onwards, the two teams went on to forge eight deadlocks. It was however the heroics of Manzano, Lara and Tiangco that brought the Lady Patriots the win at 28-26, extending the match to at least one more set.
The fourth set featured an all-out Arellano attack. With Shirly Salamagos joining the scoring party, the Lady Chiefs were able to rise to a 14-7 lead. Bautista was well in her groove as the offense looked poised to deliver a blowout under her leadership.
Unfortunately for the Lady Chiefs, Lara and Yongco had other plans in mind, as they led the Lady Patriots to a 9-0 scoring run. It was a complete collapse on the defensive end on Arellano’s part, as La Salle Dasmarinas stole ahead by two by the second technical timeout, 16-14.
Both teams would constantly exchange leads in an action-packed set, but the Arellano Lady Chiefs made the proper adjustments, closing out their opponents at 25-22.
Nerisssa Bautista led all scorers with 25 markers, while MJ Balse and Elaube Sagun had 19 and 15, respectively.
Monique Tiongco and Jennifer Manzano led the Lady Patriots with 14 apiece.
UST's Aiza Maizo tips the ball past the Perpetual Help defense. KC Cruz
The second match of the day featured the scrappy University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Lady Altas falling short against the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses in a five-set marathon, 25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 25-19 and 11-15.
UST avoids a playoff match with 2-1 Adamson, by finishing the quarters with a 3-0 card. Perpetual closed out their stint with a 1-2 slate.
Fresh from a come-from-behind victory over the Lady Stags, the Lady Altas were in full rhythm at the start of the first set. Sandra Delos Santos, April Sartin and guest player Joy Cases were hitting from every side of the court, as they lead UPHSD, 16-10.
Despite the excellent extra coverage of the court by the lefty Aiza Maizo and the running spikes delivered by Maika Ortiz, the Tigresses struggled on their receptions, as Norie Jane Diaz was relentless with her attack, helping the Altas draw first blood, 25-21.
With the Tigresses giving up the first set care of a multitude of errors, UST seemed to have flipped the script by the second, leading early on at 5-1. It was short-lived though, as Diaz continued her aggressiveness, swinging the lead back to the Lady Altas at 9-8.
UST answered back with a big spark from Carmela Tunay supporting the Maizo-Ortiz one-two punch. The Tigresses led at 16-12 and they never looked back as they managed a 25-18 set win care of a vicious cross-court attack from Ortiz.
The third set was a close one with UST only ahead by one, 8-7, by the first technical time out. Pamela Lastimosa and Jessey De Leon stepped up for the Tigresses, as Tubino and De Leon maintained their usual offensive outputs. It was one of more the well-fought sets between these two teams, as they found themselves even on 10 different occasions.
The Tigresses were able to pull-away by a slim margin after cutting down their errors, winning after Joy Cases lined up a service error that gave the Tigresses the set at 25-22.
It was a difficult start for UST in the fourth set as they once again pile on the errors for their squad. They let the surging Lady Altas take command with an early 8-6 lead at 8-6 by the first technical timeout.
UST continued to struggle throughout the set as Tubino, Cases, Delos Santos and Diaz were out-hustling the Tigresses, allowing the Lady Altas to force a fifth and final set with a 5-0 scoring run that made it 25-19.
It was a matter of who was hungrier for the win in the fifth and final set, as both teams displayed long and quality rallies, which tested their resiliency.
The Tigresses led early in the set via a 5-0 explosion paced by Maika Ortiz. The Lady Altas however still benefited from UST’s unforced errors, as they inched closer at 7-5.
Down the stretch, key minutes from veterans Maruja Banaticla and Judy Caballejo brought life to UST with the crowd-favorites on the floor. However, the game came down to an offensive outburst from Carmela Tunay, followed-up by Aiza Maizo’s throw-down spike, which propelled UST to the semifinals with the win at 15-11.
It was a typical afternoon for Rhea Dimaculangan, as she tallied 37 excellent sets while facilitating the high-octane UST offense.
Both teams had well-distributed scoring in their match as Maika Ortiz managed a game-high 23, followed byMaizo at 12, De Leon at 11 and Lastimosa and Tunay at 10 apiece.
Perpetual Help was led by Joy Cases’ 17 and Tubino’s 16. Delos Santos managed to score 14 with Sartin at 13 and Diaz notching up 8.
The league also announced Thursday that a change of venue would take place for the semifinals and finals of the first conference of Shakey's V-League season 10.
The first playing date of the semifinals, May 14, will be held at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, featuring Ateneo versus UST at 2pm, followed by NU versus Adamson at 4pm.
The tourney then shifts to the SM MOA Arena on May 16, with games two of Adamson versus NU (2pm) and Ateneo versus UST (4pm). Should any series go three games, that action would take place on May 19 at the PhilSports Arena anew.
For the finals, games one and two, will be held at the SM MOA Arena, with a potential game three at PhilSports once more. - AMD/CLP, GMA News
