Cagayan rises again, clinches V League crown

MANILA, Philippines - Cagayan Valley outplayed Army in the deciding set to eke out a 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 15-9 win and capture the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 Third Conference crown before a big Sunday crowd at The Arena in San Juan City.

Azia Maizo-Pontillas fired a match-high 25 hits to power the Rising Suns to a two-game sweep of the Lady Troopers and their second title since reigning supreme in the Reinforced Conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s last year.

Pontillas also completed a grand slam of sorts as she came away with the conference MVP honors and the championship and later the Finals MVP plum, a repeat of her feat when she was still with the UST Tigresses five years ago.

“I draw my strength and inspiration from my family back in Iloilo,” said Pontillas, whose two-year-old son Aaron James is with her parents in Iloilo.

The Rising Suns overcame a 0-3 start in the decider and strung up seven straight points to turn a 5-6 deficit to a 12-6 lead before thwarting the Lady Troopers’ desperate rally to sweep their best-of-three series and annex the crown in the season-ending conference of the league backed by Mikasa and Accel.

Army got a boost after local guest players Dindin Santiago and Carmina Aganon got the green light to play by their mother teams from the other league and last conference’s MVP Rachel Ann Daquis came out smoking after struggling in the series’ opener which Cagayan took, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, last Sunday. But the Rising Suns uncoiled their vaunted power game midway in the fifth set and pounced on their rivals’ miscues and poor reception to turn what had been a shaky start into a convincing triumph.

“I told my players that we should treat this like we’re defending the title,” said Cagayan coach Nes Pamilar.

Earlier, Instituto Estetico Manila rode on a big windup to scuttle Systema Tooth and Gum Care, 19-25, 25-19, 13-25, 25-21, 15-13, and force a sudden death for the league’s inaugural men’s crown.

Not even the surprise appearance of former National U stars Santiago and Aganon midway in the five-set match could unsettle the determined Rising Suns, who racked up three straight hits after falling 0-3 in the fifth then held the Rising Suns scoreless in a long stretch to pull away from a 5-6 deficit.

Patcharee Saengmuang, one of Cagayan’s two Thai guest players, scored three points in that decisive 7-0 binge aided by two Army errors as Maizo-Pontillas stayed at the service line to help key the Rising Suns’ big surge.

Santiago banged in a kill to keep Army in the match, 8-13, before Saengmuang countered with her own smash in the center and Amporn Hyapha, the other Thai reinforcement, scored on a running attack to wrap the match in 1:59, triggering a celebration at centercourt, led by Cagayan Valley Mayor Dang Antonio-Pua.

The victory avenged the Rising Suns’ setback to the Lady Troopers in the recent Open Conference finals.