Ateneo guns for lead in Shakey’s V-League

Ateneo gets the chance to test its real strength as it tangles with Adamson, hoping to notch its third straight victory for the solo lead in the Shakey’s V-League Season 5 at The Arena in San Juan today.

After trouncing Lyceum and St. Benilde via straight-set romps, the Lady Eagles are expected to encounter stiff resistance from the Falcons, who dropped a tough three-setter in their sudden death match with the FEU Tams for the UAAP crown recently.

Ma. Rosario Soriano, the leading server and blocker in the early going of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza, and import Jindarat Kanchana of Thailand head Ateneo’s bid in its 4 p.m. encounter with Adamson, to be bannered by guest player Neriza Bautista and mainstays Jacqueline So, Rissa Laguilles, Angela Benting and Michelle Segodine.

Karla Bello, one of the Ateneo’s top setters, is expected to suit up after missing the Ateneo-St. Benilde game.

Equally interesting is the 2 p.m. clash between FEU and Lyceum with the Lady Tams hoping to come out better and stronger after barely thwarting a stubborn St. Benilde side in five sets last Tuesday.

The Tams opened up with a 25-17 in the first set but dropped cliffhangers in the next two and had to lean on Irish Morada, Mary Rose Cabanag and Cherry May Vivas to pull off the victory.

But expect the Pirates to go out fighting as they try to snap a three-game skid and revive their hopes for a quarterfinal berth in the double-round elimination phase of the event organized by Sports Vision and backed by Active White skin whitening products, Mail and More, ICT Call Center, Mikasa and Accel.

Beverly Boto, the league’s leading scorer with 47points, including 39 hits and seven blocks, will be the key player for Lyceum which also hopes to draw big games from Dahlia Cruz, Jane Jarin and Bernadette Satsatin.

Meanwhile, the Lyceum-FEU game will be shown on NBN-4 starting at 2 p.m. tomorrow while the Ateneo-Adamson clash will be aired on Tuesday. For details, log on at www.v-league.ph.