photos courtesy of Ben Maniclang

Games Sunday
2 p.m. – St. Benilde vs Adamson
4 p.m. – SSC-Excelroof vs National U
6 p.m. – Ateneo vs Lyceum

Standings    W L
San Sebastian 4-0
Ateneo 2-1
Lyceum 3-2
FEU 3-2
Adamson 2-2
NU 2-2
Perpetual 1-4
St. Benilde 0-4

Far Eastern U and Lyceum fashioned out a pair of straight-set victories over the
league’s two newcomers to move up to joint third in the Shakey‘s V-League Season
7 second conference at The Arena in San Juan Thursday.

.
The Lady Tams clipped the National U Lady Bulldogs with their power game and
rolled to an easy 25-11, 25-19, 25-14 romp while the Lady Pirates fought off a
stubborn Perpetual Help side to hack out a 26-24, 25-16, 25-21 win the first
game.

The twin victories boosted FEU and Lyceum’s quarterfinal bids as they improved
to 3-2 for a share of third heading into the crucial phase of the single round
robin elims of the season-ending conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s
Pizza.

The Tams unloaded 39 kills against the Lady Bulldogs’ measly 16-attack output
with Rachelle Anne Daquis and Monique Tiangco leading the charge with 11 and 10
hits, respectively.

The top NU hitters failed to get the most from their set-up and quick plays with
guest player Denise Santiago emerging the team’s top scorer with just eight
points.

Mervic Mangui, who normed 15 points heading into the match, was held to just
four points along with Elaine Sagun and Maricar Nepomuceno to typify the
Bulldogs’ game-long struggle in the face of the Pirates’ superb all-around game.

Cherry Vivas added eight hits while Wenneth Eulalio, Michelle Carolino, Kathlene
Magsumbol and Rose Vargas combined for 21 points for good measure.

The loss dropped NU to 2-2 for joint fifth with Adamson while Perpetual Help
slid farther back at 1-4 and in danger of missing the quarterfinals in the
tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Accel, Mikasa and Excelroof.

The Lady Pirates neutralized the Altas superb blocking with timely hits, pooling
48 spikes against their rivals’ 33, while holding their own in floor defense and
reception, clinching the win in 1:13.

Although Lyceum did it in three, the Lady Pirates had to sweat it out to pull
through, needing an extra point in the opening frame before hanging tough in the
third.

Former MVP Mary Jean Balse rammed in 20 kills for a 21-hit output to lead the
Lady Pirates’ charge. She drew solid backup from Joy Cases and Dahlia Cruz, who
tossed in 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The Altas stunned their fancied rivals with 11 blocks, more than doubling
Lyceum’s five-block output, with guest player Nica Guliman and Sandra delos
Santos coming up with five and four, respectively.
But Perpetual Help fell short in its offense with Guliman knocking in 11 attacks
for a 16-point performance and de los Santos adding eight kills before winding
up with 14 points.