UAAP softball: Champ UP tries to prevent Adamson sweep

MANILA, Philippines – Whether or not defending champion UP has found an antidote to end Adamson’s dominance in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) softball competition will be known Saturday when the two teams collide at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) field. The Lady Maroons’ title defense hangs on the line in this game since a win by the Lady Falcons in their 1:00 p.m. encounter will complete a 10-game sweep of the double round elimination to win the crown outright. “We expect a tough game against UP but we’re ready. We have to play with our hearts and be focused for this game," said Adamson coach Ana Santiago. The Lady Falcons are seeking their ninth softball title to remain in second place in the UAAP’s overall titles list. FEU topped the list after winning a total of 19 titles from 1953 to 1984 before the event was scrapped from the league’s calendar. Softball returned in 1995 and Adamson emerged as the dominant team winning four straight titles from 1997 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2007. Santiago was a member of that championship-winning squad from 1997 to 1999 before handling the Lady Falcons in 2005. Cloiene Muyco will start at the mound for the Lady Falcons hoping to win the big match and end an illustrious UAAP career that saw her anchor the team’s conquest from 2005. UP will rely on team defense to offset the team’s lack of a quality pitcher in their drive to set a semifinals encounter between the top four teams after the double elimination round. UP suffered a 7-0 blanking at the hands of Adamson in their first round encounter, a loss Lady Maroons coach Kiko Diaz attributed to poor defense as they committed numerous fielding errors. Ateneo faces University of the East in the 9:00 a.m. opener while La Salle hopes to end its misfortunes against UST at 11:00 a.m. – GMANews.TV