Standings
Group A
NU 4 1
FEU 4 1
AU 4 1
UP 2 3
UB 1 4
PUP 0 5
Group B
ADMU 5 0
UST 4 1
DLSU-Dasma 2 3
CSB 2 3
SSC 1 4
TIP 1 4
PRESS RELEASE
University of Santo Tomas toughened up for the quarters, repulsing a stubborn San Sebastian College side in the opening set before cruising to a 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 victory to finish second to unbeaten Ateneo at the close of the Group B elims in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan City Sunday.
The Tigresses banked on their superb net defense to frustrate the Lady Stags, coming away with 11 blocks while skipper Pam Lastimosa uncorked a 14-hit game, spiked by 13 attacks, and Ennajie Laure and Chlodia Cortez combined for 22 points to power UST to a 4-1 campaign in the single round elims of the mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.
It was a tough loss for SSC, which came out strong in a bid to nail the all important win for a spot in the next round of the tournament presented by PLDT Home Ultera.
But with a 1-4 win-loss card the Lady Stags dropped to joint fifth with the TIP Lady Engineers with the two teams awaiting the result of the La Salle-Dasmariñas-St. Benilde encounter
At 1-3, La Salle-Dasma hopes to steal a win and the last quarterfinals berth but a St. Benilde victory will pave the way for a three-way tie for fourth. The standoff will be broken via the quotient system.
Jolina Labiano topscored for SSC with 11 hits after a gritty stand in the first set, the Lady Stags failed to keep in step with the Tigresses’ power game and superb blocking and reeled to their fourth setback in the tournament backed by Mikasa and Accel.
Meanwhile, Ateneo underscored its readiness for the tough quarters grind as it plastered also-ran Technological Institute of the Philippines, 25-16, 25-14, 25-13, to sweep its side of the elims in Group B.
Alyssa Valdez knocked down 12 kills and came through with two blocks and two aces to power the Lady Eagles to the 60-minute romp, their fifth straight.
The Ateneo defense likewise limited TIP’s hitters to just 12 kills while ramming in 35 of its own with the reigning UAAP champions completing their domination with eight blocks and nine aces against their rivals three and one, respectively.
Guest player Hezzymei Acuna topscored with a mere six-hit output while Sheeka Espinosa had three points and Eunice Mabayao and Gayle Layug each made two hits for the Lady Engineers, who wound up with a 1-4 card.
University of Batangas overcame Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ Jane Romo and Lourdes Clemente’s combined 49-hit explosion and hacked out a stirring 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 28-26 victory to close out its campaign on a winning note.
The Lady Brahmans leaned on sheer guts to frustrate the Lady Radicals in a duel of ousted, winless squads in Group A with Krissa Madalogdog and Cyren Montecener leading their attack with 18 and 16 hits, respectively.
PUP fired 56 attacks, 12 more than UB and posted eight blocks against its rival’s six but failed to sustain its first set victory in the face of the Lady Brahmans’ strong fightback in the next three.
The Lady Radicals wound up with a 0-5 slate.
La Salle-Dasmariñas checked its skid in time and outlasted St. Benilde in the decider to snatch a 25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 18-25, 16-14 victory and snare the last quarterfinal berth late last night.
With San Sebastian dropping a straight-set setback to UST earlier, La Salle-Dasma went into full throttle against St. Benilde and took the first two sets but succumbed to pressure in the next two, needing to regroup in the fifth to gain passage in the next round.
The Lady Patriots thus tied the Lady Blazers at third with 2-3 marks at the close of the elims and will join the unbeaten Ateneo and UST sides in the next round.
The two-hour La Salle-Dasma win likewise slammed the door shut on SSC and TIP, which finished with 1-4 cards and were hoping for a St. Benilde victory to force a three-way tie for fourth.
