V-League: Ateneo, UST start title series for Season 9 crown

Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas hope to move closer to their respective goals when they begin their best-of-three finals showdown in the Shakey's V-League Season 9 first conference Sunday at The Arena in San Juan City. The Lady Eagles, the defending Season 8 first conference champions, hope to keep the crown while the Tigresses seek to restore their winning tradition in the country's top intercollegiate women's volleyball league. Ateneo defeated UST in four sets in their first and only encounter in the league's season-opening conference. That win sparked the Lady Eagles' 10-game winning streak, which stretched from the elimination round to the Final Four. Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb wants no less than a championship to validate their claim as one of the league's best squads. "All our hard work will be wasted if we fail to win the championship," said Gorayeb in Filipino. The Lady Eagles—with power-hitters Alyssa Valdez, Fille Cainglet, Angeline Gervacio, Thai guest player Lithawat Kesinee, setter Jem Ferrer and libero Denden Lazaro—are slightly favored against the Tigresses. Gorayeb, however, remains wary of the six-time champions UST, which skipped the 2010 season after ruling the first conference following the graduation of its key players. But current coach Odjie Mamon, who replaced Shaq Delos Santos, has formed a championship-caliber team behind Judy Caballejo, Maika Ortiz, Maruja Banaticla, setter Rhea Dimaculangan, libero Jan Dusaran, Thai reinforcement Utaiwan Kaensing and fellow guest player and former MVP Mary Jean Balse. Mamon said his wards need to match Ateneo's intensity the entire game to beat the Lady Eagles, who defeated Adamson last year to the crown. "For this series, I will motivate them to overachieve. Who knows, we can beat Ateneo," said Mamon. In the first game, San Sebastian and Perpetual Help begin their own best-of-three series in the battle for third at 2 p.m. — JVP, GMA News