Tigresses growl to V-League three-peat

MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas re-staked its claim as the top women’s volley team in the land, beating San Sebastian College in sudden death, 25-20, 25-27, 25-12, 25-15, to capture the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 first crown at packed The Arena in San Juan last night.

The Tigresses, behind last year’s MVP Aiza Maizo and the talented Maika Ortiz, bounced back from a scrambling second set setback by dominating the next two sets, wrapping up the match (3-1), the series (2-1) and the championship, their third straight.

The three-peat matched La Salle’s feat in 2004-06 with the Tigresses collecting their sixth crown in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and presented by PLDT MyDSL.

San Sebastian, which sparked hopes for a second title after forcing a do-or-die with a five-set victory in Game Two, settled for runner-up honors, their fifth in the tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Accel, Mikasa and Mighty Bond.

The Tigresses put up a wall of a defense upfront to neutralize the power-hitting troika of Jeng Bualee, Suzanne Roces and Joy Benito, finishing with 13 blocks as against SSC’s seven.

Maizo and Denise Santiago each had three blocks with the former also re-displaying her awesome offense with 14 kills for a 17-point output.

Guest player Mary Jean Balse and setter Rhea Dimaculangan added 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Michelle Carolino, the team’s other reinforcement, and Santiago backed them up with nine points apiece.

“I’m so happy with this (third) win. I’m so thankful to God and we dedicate this championship to Him,” said coach Shaq Delos Santos, who made sure to be back at the UST helm on its historic bid.

The Tigresses also drew inspiration from the crowd that practically gave them the proverbial home court advantage throughout the series.

“It’s a great feeling that we make a lot of people happy, we owe it to them to give them what they want and perform the way they expect us to play,” said Delos Santos.

It was UST’s fourth win over SSC in their five title duels with the Tigresses getting the job done despite the absence of injured mainstays Angeli Tabaquero and sophomore Maru Banaticla.

“I’m so happy with the win,” said Maizo, who bagged the finals MVP honors. “Coach told us to just enjoy the game. If it is for us, we should be thankful and even if we lose we should accept it graciously.”

Dimaculangan clinched the victory for UST with a drop shot which came after Carolino unloaded back-to-back kills that thwarted any SSC uprising in the fourth frame.

Impressively, UST was the only team to enter the Final Four with an all-Filipino lineup, again proving the locals’ talent against those which reinforced their respective rosters with Thai imports.

Benito topscored for SSC with 17 hits while Bualee churned out a 16-point job and Roces added 13 points.  – With report from Aldo Aviñante