Tigresses, Falcons seal showdown

MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas recovered from a second set setback and won the next two as it repeated over Far Eastern U, 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-17, to reach the finals of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Tigresses put up another superb net defense against the Lady Tams, coming up with 17 blocks behind rookie Maru Banaticla and Angeli Tabaquero while skipper Aiza Maizo joined the duo in delivering the hits to complete a 2-0 sweep of their best-of-three series.

Adamson matched UST sweep of its rival later in the day as it wore down San Sebastian, 25-13, 25-19, 25-22, as the Lady Falcons arranged a showdown with the Tigresses for the second conference crown.

Game One of the title series, also a best-of-three affair, starts tomorrow at 4 p.m. with San Sebastian and FEU disputing third place at 2 p.m.

“I think the Stags were very tired after competing and winning the NCAA crown,” said Adamson coach Dulce Pante in Filipino. “But we played a solid series and the team’s cohesion is already there.”

Angela Benting and Jill Gustilo came away with 15 hits while Pau Soriano and guest player Charmaine Moralde added 10 hits each for the Lady Falcons, who clinched their second championship appearance since toppling the Ateneo Lady Eagles for the 2008 First Conference crown.

Joy Benito made 11 points for the Lady Stags.

UST thus made its eighth finals appearance, underscoring its domination of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza with the Tigresses, winner of four crowns, eyeing a sweep of the season’s titles after beating the San Sebastian Lady Stags for the first conference plum last June.

Banaticla, a gem of a find for UST, topscored with 19 points, including three blocks, while Tabaguero had five blocks and finished with 18 hits, the same output put in by Maizo.

“We’re happy to be back in the finals. They relaxed a bit in the second set because they knew they can beat them. But when the Tams took charge in the second set, they tried to fight back but failed,” said UST coach Cesael delos Santos in Filipino.

“But we have to stay focused in the finals if we want to win again,” said Delos Santos, who also steered the team to a 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 victory in Game One.

The Tams pounced on the Tigresses in the second set with Rachel Daquis scoring back-to-back hits to even the match in the tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare.

But the España-based spikers reasserted their might in the third, displaying the form they showed in topping the elims and the quarters with guest player Roxanne Pimentel coming through with running spikes to give UST a 21-8 lead.

The Tigresses roared to a 19-12 advantage in the fourth set on a Maika Ortiz kill but the Tams countered with three straight hits, including two from top hitter Cherry Vivas, that closed the gap at 15-19.

But Vivas made an attacking error while Ortiz scored on another UST block to make it a 21-15 count en route to the victory.

Daquis wound up with 18 hits for FEU, which also drew 12 points from Vivas and 11 from Monique Tiangco.