Adamson cops No. 3; Ateneo in playoff

MANILA, Philippines - Adamson waylaid St. Benilde, 25-17, 25-15, 25-10, to clinch the No. 3 spot in the semifinal round while Ateneo subdued University of Santo Tomas, 25-11, 25-18, 17-25, 19-25, 15-11, to force a playoff with Far Eastern U for the last Final Four berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

The Lady Falcons actually tied the Tams and the Eagles for third at the close of the quarters with 7-5 slates but the San Marcelino-based squad took the No. 3 seat with a superior tiebreak score.

Ateneo and FEU dispute the last semis spot in a one-game playoff tomorrow.

The Lady Eagles, with alumna Charo Soriano back in harness, took control of the first two sets but the Tigresses, with skipper Aiza Maizo arriving, fought back to win the next two frames, setting the stage for the decider.

But Ateneo uncorked four straight points, including Dzi Gervacio’s block, to shatter an 11-all count and clinch the all-important win that kept the Lady Eagles’ semis bid alive.

“I told them to play extra hard if they still want to extend their season,” said Ateneo coach Clint Malazo.

Gervacio finished with a career-high 23 points while Fille Cainglet and Soriano added 17 and 13 hits for the Lady Eagles, who missed the semis in the first conference.

Angeli Tabaquero paced UST with 22 hits while rookie Maru Banaticla and Rhea Dimaculangan scored 11 hits apiece.

Skipper Angela Benting unloaded 21 kills and finished with 24 points while Paulina Soriano and Angelica Quinlog added 16 and 10 hits, respectively, for Adamson, which hopes to improve on its third place finish last conference.

Giza Yumang scored 11 hits but no other Blazer was able to churn out double-digit scores as they closed out their campaign with a 3-9 card.

Meanwhile, the Adamson-St. Benilde match will be aired on NBN-4 starting at 2 p.m. today, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

The Lady Falcons left nothing to chance and imposed their will and strength over the Blazers early to secure their stint in the Final Four.

Adamson outspiked St. Benilde, 48-19 and finished with 11 blocks against its rival’s six while putting up a supber court coverage throughout the one-hour encounter.