UST, SSC spikers seek to seal title

MANILA, Philippines – Univ. of Santo Tomas and San Sebastian try to seal a second straight title showdown in the Shakey’s V-League presented by Cherifer as they go for a pair of Final Four sweeps over their respective rivals at The Arena in San Juan City today.

The Tigresses, seeking a fourth crown in the league, held off the Far Eastern U Lady Tams, 25-14, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18, last Thursday and are raring to repeat the feat and gain another crack at the championship.

The Lady Stags, who beat the Tigresses to claim last year’s second conference crown, outplayed the Adamson Lady Falcons, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18, in their own side of the semis duel and are heavily favored to reassert their domination of the defending champions for a second straight finals trip.

UST battles FEU at 2 p.m. while San Sebastian collides with Adamson at 4 p.m. For live webcast of the games, log on to www.v-league.ph. Matches are also televised on NBN-4 starting at 2 p.m. on Monday.

But though UST and SSC are tipped to prevail again, expect FEU and Adamson to come out strong and stop their rivals and force a pair of sudden deaths for berths in the finals of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and Cherifer and backed by Accel, Mikasa, Mighty Bond and OraCare.

The Lady Tams hope to cash in on the absence of UST top hitter Michelle Carolino on a team built around Shaira Gonzalez, Irish Morada and Cherry Vivas as they try to neutralize the vaunted frontline of Tigresses, led by skipper Aiza Maizo, Mary Jean Balse, Maika Ortiz and Rhea Dimaculangan.

The awesome UST foursome combined for 65 points the first time out to key the Espana-based squad’s win.

Adamson, on the other hand, faces tall odds as they try to overcome a fired-up San Sebastian side with the Lady Falcons reeling from the absence of key players MVP Nerissa Bautista and Joanna Botor-Carpio, who with Carolino, are playing with the RP team in a beach volley tournament in Vietnam.

With Thai import Jaroensri Bualee, Laurence Ann Latigas and Rysabelle Devanadera on the firing end, the Lady Stags whipped the Lady Falcons to take the opener of their best-of-three series.

Victories by UST and SSC will set the Tigresses and the Lady Stags in a best-of-three series for the crown on Tuesday.