NCRAA: La Salle-Dasma, PUP win 1st volleyball games

La Salle-Dasmariñas and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) won Game 1 of the 14th Petron-National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) volleyball tournament last Wednesday at the PUP Gym. According to a statement sent to media organizations Thursday, the La Salle-Dasmariñas Patriots walloped the St. Francis Doves, 25-16, 25-22, 25-22, to move closer to their third men's division crown. The PUP Lady Maroons turned back the Lady Patriots, 25-22, 24-16, 25-14, 25-15, and close in on a sweep of the women's best-of-three finals. A couple of slams at the frontline by the Patriots' Ronnie Borlodgatan forced the Doves to commit a series of errors in the final set. The Doves stayed within range, 22-23, after Melvin Hernandez bungled a return shot at the left corner. "Close ang laban. 'Yung combination namin sa middle at mga spikes ni Ronnie ang nagpanalo sa amin," said Patriots coach Fidel Rojales. The Patriots picked up the pace right in the first set, breaking away from a 15-all tie with a 10-1 blast, via the attacks in the middle by Borlagdatan and Roger Ngo. On the othet hand, the Lady Maroons unleashed two decisive blasts in the third and fourth sets as they kept the Lady Patriots from coming back after they took charge in the second set. They zoomed to a 4-1 lead in third built around the big serves of Riza Cawan. A 9-1 surge from the Lady Maroons in the fourth set, coupled with drop shots from Kristia Ricana and big serves from Gladys Diesta allowed PUP to move ahead with a 13-5 edge. "Amin na ito pagkatapos ma-realize ng mga players ang kanila mistakes sa second set. Nag-relax kasi sa loob," Lady Maroons coach Vangie de Jesus said. Defense on the high-flying Precious Abano's spikes at the front enabled the Lady Maroons to keep the Lady Patriots from coming back. - GMANews.TV