Lady Falcons Repeat Over Stags, Gains Share of Lead

Adamson pulled off another five-set thriller over fancied San Sebastian-Excelroof, 15-25, 25-21, 13-25, 25-19, 25-13, to force a two-way tie for the lead at the start of the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 second conference at The Arena in San Juan last night.

The Lady Falcons rebounded from a listless third set stint and took the last two sets, including a pulsating two-point victory in the decider to repeat over the Lady Stags and underscore their readiness for a second championship after beating the Ateneo Lady Eagles in the 2008 first conference.

Nerissa Bautista and Angela Benting held their own against the power-hitting pair of Jeng Bualee and Joy Benito and finished with a combined 38-hit job while Pau Soriano and Michelle Laborte turned in identical 11 points as the Lady Falcons gained a piece of the lead with their victim at 6-2.

Bualee, the league’s leading scorer, lived up to her billing as she fired 27 hits, including 25 kills, but failed to steer the Lady Stags in a close fifth-set duel that could’ve gone either way.

Benito also came away with a solid 21-point output while Suzanee Roces and Melissa Mirasol added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Lady Stags, whose bid for a second championship in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza now
threatened by a surging Adamson side.

Earlier, National U fought back from two sets down and swept the last three, pulling off a stirring 12-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-12 victory over Perpetual Help to clinch the last quarterfinal berth in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Accel, Mikasa and Excelroof.

Mervic Mangui came back strong after a series of so-so performances, firing 28 hits, including 22 attacks, as she teamed up with Maricar Nepomuceno and guest player Denise Santiago in rallying the Lady Bulldogs past the Altas in their sudden death for the sixth and last quarters seat.

It was a big comeback for the Bulldogs, who seemed to have lost their bark after dropping the first two sets in lopsided fashions. But Mangui, Nepomuceno and Santiago presided over NU’s third set charge although the Lady Bulldogs barely survived elimination with a two-point victory.

But they sustained their momentum and re-asserted their mastery over the Altas, whom they also beat, 3-0, in their elims round faceoff.

However, with 2-5 carryover card, NU will have a lot of catching up to do in the single round quarters, starting off with a match against powerhouse San Sebastian-Excelroof on Thursday. Impressive in the first two sets, the Altas turned erratic in the last three, its last attacking error ending the one-hour, 50-minute encounter between two newcomers.

Sandra delos Santos, Ronerry dela Cruz and Arpil Sartin combined for 44 points while guest players Nica Guliman and Michelle Datuin scored 13 points between themselves but the Altas failed to close out the Bulldogs in the third set before succumbing to pressure in the last two.

Nepomuceno finished with 15 hits, including five blocks, while Santiago had 10 kills for the Lady Bulldogs, who also drew eight points from Elaine Sagun and five hits from their other guest player in Daphne Santiago.