UST outclasses Ateneo, secures V-League QF slot

University of Santo Tomas overcame Ateneo-OraCare’s gritty stand and pulled off a tough 25-23, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20 victory to barge into the quarterfinals of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 at The Arena in San Juan Tuesday.

Rookie Maru Banaticla stepped up for the Tigresses in the fourth set as they battled back from a 3-9 deficit to clinch the match, stretch their win run to five and land a spot in the next round of the tournament ahead of everybody else. “We have to stay focused since all teams are capable of beating us," said UST coach Cesael de los Santos, still far from being satisfied with his wards’ performance halfway through the single round elims. UST will try to toughen up for the quarters as it takes a break from the league to compete in the Unigames in Iloilo City starting this weekend along with Adamson. Angeli Tabaquero and Banaticla came away with 15 hits each for UST, which also drew 14 and 13 hits from Aiza Maizo and Maika Ortiz. Kara Acevedo scored 17 points while Fille Cainglet chipped in 14 hits for the Lady Eagles, who dropped to 1-1 after beating the UP Lady Maroons. Earlier, the Lady Falcons regained their winning ways as they foiled the St. Benilde Lady Blazers, 25-23, 26-24, 25-16, to hike their record to 3-2. Skipper Angela Benting took charge for the Lady Falcons with 16 kills and finished with 17 points while Pau Soriano backed her up with eight attacks and three blocks for a 13-point output. St. Benilde, which lost the NCAA women's volley crown to San Sebastian in sudden death last Sunday, dropped the first two sets in close fashions. But the rigors of playing a series of tough games finally took their toll on the Lady Blazers, who lost steam in the third set. The Lady Falcons also pounced on their rivals' sputtering start in the third frame as they raced to an 18-8 lead and never looked back to annex the victory. "We are stilly trying to get our rhythm. Hopefully, when we return next month, we will be a lot better," said coach Dulce Pante of the Unigames-bound Lady Falcons. Giza Yumang paced St. Benilde with 10 hits while Zharmaine Velez and guest player Rosann Fajardo each had nine points for the Lady Blazers, who held their own in defense with seven blocks, including four from Velez. - GMANews.TV