The final four teams are all set but the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds have yet to be determined. UST is still not out of the woods yet as Ateneo and Adamson U have their sights on the number 2 spot. Should the defending champs lose their game against AdU and Ateneo gets a W on DLSU, the Tigresses are in danger of dropping to 3rd or 4th place. A critical game for all three teams trying to avoid facing La Salle in the first round of the semis.
While the Tigresses have had an easy won over FEU last January, a win over Adamson would have them remain at 2nd place. Speaking of the AdU, the Lady Falcons victory against NU sealed their final four spot. With Ateneo still on their tail, the battle for 2nd place won't be an easy one.
The defending champions were hot in the first set. Despite being hampered with back spasms, Aizo Maizo seemed like she had no problems with her health at all -- displaying vicious attacks on Adamson. She pretty much dominated the Lady Falcons offensively and defensively. UST easily took set number 1.
Set number 2 had the Lady Falcons fighting back as Pau Soriano started to heat up in her offense. Clearly, the Tigresses have the size advantage but the Lady Falcons have some 'size' of their own by the name of crowd favorite Jenalyn "Kaboom" Ortega. She checked in for some much needed boost in the game. UST's Judy Caballejo joined Aiza Maizo in the scoring fun to keep AdU from building momentum. The Lady Falcons somehow reached the 20-point margin but the Tigresses pulled away to take the 2-0 lead.
In the 3rd set however, Adamson's defense started to pick up. Angela Benting's attacks were already penetrating UST's blockers. The Tigresses made a few tweaks with their plays but The Lady Falcons somehow kept the game close. Just when AdU had their chance of escaping a sweep from the defending champs, unforced errors started hurting them when it was all on the line. Soon enough, UST would take advantage and the sweep on Adamson was on lock 3 sets to nil. Pau Soriano finished with 13 points (11 attacks and 2 blocks) for the Lady Falcons.
UST's Judy Caballejo was named Shakey's Best Player of the Game chalking up 15 points (14 attacks and 1 service ace) while Team Captain Aiza Maizo had 15 points (15 attacks).
UST -- 3 AdU -- 0
25-17, 25-20, 25-23
Rivals De La Salle University and Ateneo De Manila University meet again in the 2nd round. The Lady Archers have yet to be beaten on the court while the Lady Eagles have a 7 game win streak under their belt and are vying to tangle up with the Tigresses for the number 2 spot. No love lost between these two teams. The Lady Eagles are the obvious underdogs in this game. A win over the league leaders would have them joining UST in 2nd place. If Ateneo loses, a twice to beat advantage will be on lock for La Salle.
The first set had Ateneo fired up but La Salle wasn't fazed and played their usual game like it's another day in the office. The Lady Eagles offense focused mostly on Fille Cainglet and was able to penetrate the Lady Archers' defense for a moment. All that would change DLSU's Jacq Alarca took over and started dominating Ateneo's blockers. The Lady Archers strengthened their defense preventing the Lady Archers reaching the 20 point mark. Stephanie Mercado unloaded on Ateneo and sealed La Salle's set number one advantage.
The Lady Eagles suddenly lost their intensity in the 2nd set. It's like their minds were in pluto or something. Nothing was going right for them offensively and defensively. It's as though they've already lost the game. Who can blame Ateneo Coach Roger Gorayeb for feeling disappointed with his teams performance. The Lady Eagles were held at 11 points -- the lowest they've scored in the tournament -- as the Lady Archers were on the driver's seat the entire game to take the 2-0 lead easily.
Same story in the 3rd and final set. The Ateneo supporters were silenced as the Lady Eagles didn't even bother putting up a fight and redeem themselves in set 3. Sure wasn't much of a game though. Jacq Alarca and the rest of the Ladies in Green literally showed no mercy on the Lady Eagles. Ateneo only scored 12 measly points as they got swept by La Salle 3 sets to nil.
Ateneo played their worst game to date and remains at the 3rd spot in the tournament. The Lady Eagles' Fille Cainglet finished with 11 points (9 attacks, 1 block and 1 service ace).
DLSU's win over Ateneo not only sealed them the top spot but also the twice-to-beat advantage at the Final Four.
Jacqueline Alarca of La Salle won the Shakey's Best Player of the Game award racking up 11 points and 5 blocks. Teammate Stephanie Mercado also contributed with 11 points.
DLSU -- 3 ADMU -- 0
25-18, 25-11, 25-12
Men's Volleyball Results
1st Game:
UST -- 3 DLSU -- 1
26-24, 15-25, 11-25, 15-25
2nd Game:
FEU -- 3 UP -- 2
14-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-14, 15-9
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