UST repulses La Salle, nears V-League crown

Down by a set in the early going, University of Santo Tomas refused to go down altogether and instead imposed its will up on the net to hammer out a come-from-behind 17-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16 victory over La Salle yesterday in Game One of the Shakey’s V-League title showdown at the packed Lyceum Gym.

The UST netters rammed through La Salle’s defense with their daunting attacking skills and then covered the net with grit and grace to thwart the reigning UAAP champions and move within a victory from sweeping their short best-of-three series.

The power-hitting troika of Mary Jean Balse, Venus Bernal and Joyce Paño pounded the net by combining for 44 points, 32 of them coming on attacks, as the UST netters sealed the win that lasted a little less than two hours and a 1-0 edge in their best-of-three series.

But more than their crisp kills, it was their defense that carried them to the victory.

"We played good defense at the net in the last three sets and that was the key in this game," said UST coach August Sta. Maria.

Truly, five of Balse’s game-high 16 points came on blocks with Anna Eliza Fulo adding four more. Bernal and Pano also did their share in canning La Salle’s top spikers with three blocks apiece.

The España-based netters go for the kill Sunday with fans of both squads expected to troop to Intramuros again to cheer for their respective teams in this event sponsored by Shakey’s and backed by Mikasa and Accel.

The match is aired live on IBC 13. Admission is free.

La Salle skipper Maureen Penetrante played an awesome game by leading all scorers with 23 points — 15 on attacks and seven on blocks–but got little support from her usually reliable teammates Desiree Hernandez and Carissa Gotis.

Hernandez, who led his team to last year’s UAAP volley title that won also earned her the MVP plum, scored only eight attacks for a total of 10 points and struggled in defense.

Noted for her power kills, Gotis failed to penetrate UST’s rock solid defense at the net to finish with just five points that hastened the Taft-based belles’ downfall.

The Tigresses made their move early when they seized a 4-0 lead but Penetrante took charge by dominating the net with her blocks and smashes that gave the Lady Archers the first set, control and a chance to take Game 1.

But UST toughened up their defense up front as Bernal, Pano and Balse teamed up with Fulo, Vida Rica Gutierrez and setter Lourdes Palomo to completely dominate the last three sets.