Lady Pirates earn last seat

Lyceum fended off a late Ateneo fightback as it pulled off a 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 victory yesterday to clinch the last semifinal berth in the V-League presented by Shakey’s Pizza at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Sherrilyn Carillo and Con Con Legaspi took charge for Lyceum by combining for 43 hits, including 35 on kills, as the Lady Pirates completed their surge from sixth place to joint third with Far Eastern U and San Sebastian with their fourth win in seven games to snatch the fifth and last slot in the next round.

The Lady Eagles closed out the single round elims with a 1-6 card, marred by six straight losses in the tournament presented by Shakey’s Pizza and backed by Accel, Mikasa, ABC-5 and ABC Sports.

Thus, the Intramuros-based spikers joined La Salle (6-0) and Adamson (5-1), still playing at presstime, Far Eastern U and San Sebastian in the semis, a double-round robin phase where they will carry their respective (win-loss) cards in the prelims.

The semifinal round will resume on June 3, also at the Blue Eagle gym, with ringside tickets pegged at P50 and upper box P30. Admission is free in the general admission, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

"Our defense did it," said Lyceum coach Emil Lontoc, who steered the country to its last women’s Southeast Asian Games gold medal in the 1993 Singapore edition, in Filipino.

But the Lady Pirates had to go through some anxious moments before pulling off the win. — Joey Villar