UAAP: Lady Bulldogs chomp on Lady Falcons, win in four sets

The National University Lady Bulldogs bucked a slow start and overcame the Adamson University Lady Falcons in four sets, 15-25 25-23 25-20 34-32, on Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
 
“Hindi binibitawan yung mga ganyang laro” said NU Head Coach Edjet Mabbayad. “Kung ganyan ang lalaruin naming sa La Salle, mahihirapan talaga kaming manalo sa kanila.”
 
The win featured a lethargic start in the first set and a fourth set with an extended cut, as both teams went past 25 points and combined for 66, before NU stopped it short at 34-32. Team captain Dindin Santiago’s 21 points carried her side over a wily Adamson contingent, which boasted of a 25-point performance from Shiela Pineda.

The victory gave NU its 10th straight triumph this season.
 
Dindin Santiago received Player of the Game honors, tallying 21 points, 19 off attacks.
 
“Dinadala niya yung team, ginagawa niya yung lahat para ma-inspire yung mga kasama niya na magtrabaho ng husto, na magtulungan sila,” said Coach Mabbayad. “Makikita nilang nahihirapan yung captain nila, gawin nila yung responsibilidad nila sa team.”
 
The win kept alive NU’s chances of still claiming the first seed in the Final Four, as it boosted its record to 12-1, with one game remaining, said game to be against De La Salle University (12-0), reigning champions and winners of 28 straight. On the other hand, it was a critical loss for Adamson (6-7), who are still in limbo after the loss and will have to fend off both FEU (6-7) and UST (4-8) for the last Final Four slot.
 
NU uncharacteristically started the first set trailing by four points, a deficit that ballooned to eight points after Adamson made the most of Pineda, while she was in the left wing, 13-5. National U managed to get to within a manageable five points, 15-10, but Adamson scored four straight to re-grow the lead to nine, 19-10, after the Dindin Santiago whacked the ball out of bounds. Zapanta scored three of the team’s last six points in the middle as Adamson drubbed the Bulldogs in the first set, 25-15.
 
Adamson continued its strong play in the second, as Mylene Paat fortified their defense up-front after rotating to the middle, and they were up six points after a spike by Pineda from the left wing, 13-7. Four errors from the Lady Falcons took away a chunk of that lead, and Myla Pablo maximized her presence on the left wing to even the game at 14-all. A

fter five deadlocks, NU finally snatched the lead after a tip from way back by Pablo and another error from Pineda, 22-20. Pineda brought Adamson within one after a strong spike from the left, but another error ultimately handed the set to NU, 25-23, giving both teams a win each.
 
The Lady Bulldogs regained their swagger early in the third set, scoring six straight to make it 6-1 as Jaja Santiago again rotated to the middle, where she did most of the damage. Adamson trimmed that down to two, but NU went on another 5-0 run, which put them ahead by seven points 15-8. Adamson Head Coach Sherwin Meneses subbed in reserves like Jessica Galanza and Jellie Tempiatura to shake things up, but to no avail, because although they went on a 4-0 run late, National U just needed a point to clinch the set, a point which Pablo scored from the left, 25-20, giving NU a 2-1 lead.
 
The subsequent set featured 26 deadlocks, as both squads played each other tooth for a tooth, as Pineda and Marleen Cortel (eight and four points, respectively) starred for Adamson while Dindin Santiago and Pablo (five and four points, respectively) carried the burden for NU offensively.
 
The older Santiago finished with 21 points, while Aganon and Pablo both added 14 points. The younger Santiago chimed in with 12. The gold and blue posted almost similar numbers in terms of errors (31 to Adamson’s 32), blocks (11 for both teams), and points (55 compared to Adamson’s 53), but made 24 receptions, 13 more than Adamson’s 11.
 
Pineda scored a team-high 25 points, followed by Mayette Zapanta with 15 and Cortel with 11.
 
Both squads will be playing decisive games, as Pineda and the Lady Falcons go up against Pam Lastimosa and the UST Tigresses on Saturday, February 15, at 2pm, at the Araneta Coliseum. The Santiago Sisters and the Lady Bulldogs clash against Abi Marano and the DLSU Lady Spikers on the same day at 4pm. - AMD, GMA News