UST, Ateneo spikers clash for V-League lead

University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo collide today in an early clash of the leaders with the Tigresses out to keep their title-retention bid going and the Lady Eagles raring to prove that they are a force to reckon win in the semifinal round of the 2005 Shakey’s V-League first conference at the Rizal Coliseum.

Santo Tomas swept San Sebastian, 25-13, 28-26, 25-20, at the start of the double-round semis phase last Saturday, a win later matched by Ateneo, which stunned heavily-favored and elims topnotcher La Salle, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-17.

That makes the UST-Ateneo match at 5 p.m. encounter doubly interesting as both teams will surely go flat out for no less than the solo lead in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and organized by Sports Vision Management Group, Inc.

The Lady Archers, meanwhile, try to recover lost ground as they try to snap an alarming three-game skid, including their back-to-back losses at the close of the elims last week, against the Lady Stags, who are also expected to come out strong after getting blasted by the resurgent Tigresses in straight sets.

The La Salle and San Sebastian contest, set at 3 p.m., will be shown on IBC-13 starting at 7 tonight while the UST-Ateneo encounter will be aired tomorrow, also at 7 p.m.

After a roller-coaster ride in the elims, UST had seemed to have finally found their old devastating form and the Tigresses underscored this by thumping the Lady Stags, the biggest revelation in this event backed by Accel,Mikasa, Dunkin‚ Donuts, IBC 13 and Jemah Television.

But focus will surely be on the Lady Eagles.

Making their first appearance in this top-level tournament featuring the best collegiate teams in the country, the Katipunan-based spikers showed what kind of stuff they’re made of, fighting back from a set down and repulsing the Lady Archers in four sets.

Michelle Laborte, who led Ateneo’s attack with 19 points, is again expected to spearhead the team’s bid against UST along with Amelia Guanco, Iris Ortega and Cecille Tabuena, who combined for 32 big points for the Lady Eagles.

But they will be up against a solid crew of Mary Jean Balse, the first conference MVP, Roxanne Pimentel and Venus Bernal, who came up with a combined output of 35 points to trample SSC.