MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo pulled through in two hard-fought sets then wore down University of Santo Tomas in the third to carve out a 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 victory and put its three-peat bid in motion in the Shakey’s V-League First Conference before a jampacked Sunday crowd at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
The Lady Eagles came out firing from all angles in the first two sets but needed to fend off the rallying Tigresses on both occasions before outlasting the six-time champions with a strong finishing kick to complete the sweep in 1:20 before 5,363 roaring fans.
National U bounced back from a third set meltdown as it subdued newcomer Arellano U, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20, to likewise seize the early lead in Group B that includes two-time champion Adamson, Perpetual Help and University of San Carlos-Cebu.
Alyssa Valdez delivered 22 hits while Rachel Anne Daquis made an impressive debut as a Lady Eagle reinforcement with 12 points, highlighted by nine spikes, while further strengthening the two-time champions’ already formidable frontline rotation.
UST showed up with former star and MVP Aiza Maizo and Rhea Dimaculangan but the Tigresses visibly lacked cohesion, yielding crucial points in the closing stages of the first two sets then losing steam in the third after closing in at 16-18.
But the España-based squad, holder of the most number of titles in the league sponsored by Shakey’s, still showed a lot of promise with Maizo still packing so much power and class despite a long layoff to give birth to her baby.
Carmela Tunay unloaded 10 hits while Pamela Lastimosa had eight but Maika Ortiz and Judy Caballejo struggled for a combined nine-point output in a key Group A match in the league backed by Mikasa and Accel.
Earlier, IOC representative to the Phl Frank Elizalde, Shakey’s EVP and COO Vic Gregorio, San Juan Vice Mayor Francis Zamora, Sports Vision president Ricky Palou, Sports Vision chair Moying Martelino and V-League commissioner Tony Liao made the ceremonial serves kicking off the league’s 10th season.