MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas barged into the quarterfinal round ahead of everybody else as it essayed another straight-set win, this time over newcomer Southwestern U, 25-12, 25-18, 25-20, in the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 late Thursday at The Arena in San Juan.
Skipper Aiza Maizo, one of the team’s top offensive threats, showed her defensive prowess as she came through with five blocks and finished with 18 hits, while Dindin Santiago and Angeli Tabaquero added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
It was UST’s second straight victory in Group A after it swept Far Eastern, 25-9, 25-13, 25-13, to open its bid for a third straight championship in last Sunday’s opener of the first conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and presented by PLDT MyDSL.
The loss was also the second straight for SWU, which came into the event oozing with confidence with a Thai import in Lasungnern Piyatada and a crew that just came from a title romp in the CESAFI tournament.
But the Lady Cobras suddenly found themselves on the verge of early elimination as they face the Lady Tams, who also tote a 0-2 card, in a knockout duel for the last QF slot on Tuesday.
Only the top four teams after the single round elims among five teams from each group will advance to the next round of the tournament backed by Accel, Mikasa and Mighty Bond. Piyatada had 13 hits against the Tigresses but the Thai national team mainstay failed to draw the needed support from the locals with Rapril Aguilar and guest player Erika Verano scoring just eight hits apiece.
In contrast, the Tigresses continued to dish out solid games as they brace for a keenly awaited duel with the San Sebastian Lady Stags on April 25 after a weeklong break.
“We need to stay in tip-top condition and continue to train hard to find out our weaknesses,” said UST coach Shaq delos Santos in Filipino.
He, however, said the team is doing fine after two games but stressed the need for his wards to play consistent regardless of which team they are playing with.
Meanwhile, the FEU-Univ. of St. La Salle-Bacolod game, which the latter won in straight sets last Thursday, will be shown on NBN-4 starting at 2 p.m. today while the UST-SWU match will be aired tomorrow.