V-League: Ateneo, UST beat Adamson, La Salle in semis

Ateneo survived a first-set struggle then held on to complete a 27-25, 25-15, 25-22 victory over Adamson as the Lady Eagles bounced back to keep their final hopes alive in the Shakey’s V-League Second Conference at The Arena in San Juan on Sunday. In the second game, University of Santo Tomas (UST) outlasted La Salle in the deciding set as it pulled off a hard-earned victory to assure itself of a playoff for the second finals berth. UST won in five sets – 25-17, 25-16, 18-25, 19-25, 15-8. Thai import Lithawat Kesinee made up for her so-so performance in a losing stint against San Sebastian last Friday, uncorking a 31-point output this time, including 26 attacks that powered the Lady Eagles to victory. "I’m satisfied with the way we played," Atene coach Ron Dulay said. "My players are in top condition. They played without pressure unlike in our past games." The Lady Eagles remained in third at 6-3 behind No. 1 University of Santo Tomas and No. 2 team San Sebastian. But the Lady Eagles stayed in the hunt for one of the finals berths with two more games left in the single round semis phase. Kesinee, held to just 15-point game by the tough-defending Lady Stags, took charge again for Ateneo, blasting away kills that often pierced through the Lady Falcons' net defense. Ma. Rosario Soriano also dished out a superb game for the Lady Eagles, delivering 10 attacks to finish with 11 points. Patricia Taganas, Denise Acevedo, Bea Pascual, and Karla Bello combined for 16 points for the Eagles. The setback was Adamson’s fifth against four wins and second straight in the semis after dropping a five-setter to UST last Friday. The Lady Falcons thus booted out the San Marcelino-based tossers from the finals race. "I think Adamson was tired after that five-setter against UST that’s why we took advantage of it," coach Dulay said. "They fought hard in third set but we were still lucky in the end." Neriza Bautista made 20 points for Adamson, which kept the pressure on Ateneo in the early going before yielding the last two points in an extended first set. Gaining the momentum, the Lady Eagles stamped their class in the second set but needed another explosive wind-up from Kesinee to thwart the stubborn Lady Falcons and complete the three-game sweep. In the second game, Suzanne Roces and Venus Bernal combined for 40 points while Mary Jean Balse and Angeli Tabaquero tossed in 15 and 10 points, respectively, for the Tigresses, who seized the solo lead with an 8-1 mark. The Lady Archers fell to 3-5 and must win their last three games to force a playoff for the second championship seat. Women's V-League Standings UST: 8-1 SSC-R: 7-1 ADMU: 6-3 AdU: 4-5 DLSU: 3-5 FEU: 2-5 Lyceum: 2-5 CSJL: 0-7

- GMANews.TV