SVL X 1st Conference Semifinals: NU forces decider, Ateneo advances to the finals
MOA Arena, Pasay City — On a day of broadcast difficulties and superb volleyball, the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs needed every ounce of strength and resolve to overcome a heady Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons to set up a sudden-death encounter while the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Lady Eagles finally disposed of the resilient University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses to advance to its third consecutive first conference final in the tenth season of the Shakey’s V-League (SVL).
With an almost capacity crowd in attendance, the NU-AdU tiff once again matched the intensity of the initial semis encounter with the Lady Falcons controlling the tempo from the get go. Guest player and assistant coach Angela Benting continued her torrid pace from Game 1 and was a major catalyst in Adamson’s conquest of NU in the first set, 25-20. However, NU came storming back in the second set behind the explosive attacks of MVP frontrunner Din-Din Santiago who poured in a good portion of her game-high 27 markers in the second canto to almost single-handedly overpower the Lady Falcons en route to a 25-21 win, tying the match up at one set apiece.
With the Lady Bulldogs going full-throttle in the third, it seemed that the silencing of Benting was enough for NU to pull-away midway through the set. NU Utility spiker Mina Aganon began waxing hot and the Adamson defense began failing to identify the NU attackers and extended its lead to as much as seven points, 22-15 in the twilight.
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However, the Lady Falcons refused to wilt; using a combination of its patented floor defense and blistering attacks by its literal 1-2 punch in #1 Sheila Pineda and #2 Pau Soriano, Adamson unleashed a wicked 11-2 run to salvage what appeared to be a lost cause and snatch a 26-24 comeback triumph and—like in Game 1—race to a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth.
After blowing what should have been a sure-win, many expected Head Coach Edjet Mabbayad’s charges to just fall apart. But—and as the saying goes—in sports, one must have a very short memory and that’s how veteran guest player Rubie de Leon looked when NU began dominating the fourth set. De Leon gave a setting clinic as she easily connected with a variety of targets—most especially Din-Din and the steady Myla Pablo and once again threatened to blow the Lady Falcons out of the water. A spirited uprising by Adamson almost came into fruition as they rallied late in the fourth to make it interesting. Din-Din’s steady play, however, allowed the Lady Bulldogs to keep their ship afloat and—like in Game 1—a fifth set was forced with NU taking the fourth 25-21.
However, the fifth set saw NU catapult to an early lead and forced AdU Head Coach Sherwin Meneses to use up both his timeouts even before the mini-changeover. The Lady Bulldogs went on to hold a daunting 10-3 advantage before the Lady Falcons began chipping away again, led by Soriano, Pineda and a revitalized Benting. In the end, NU was able to fend off the final Adamson salvo and preserve the victory 15-12 and extend to series to a third and decisive game.
The match will be on Sunday, May 19th at 4:00PM at the San Juan Arena—the venue where NU went 7-0 in the first two phases of the tournament, but this time their battle could be on even terms owing to the fact that the Lady Falcons have proven that the Lady Bulldogs are not invincible—despite the height disparity.
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The second semifinal match-up between Ateneo (1-0) and UST (0-1) was delayed by good thirty minutes as the television crew had to reroute its power supply to the venue as its rented generator set was on the flux throughout the first game. The coverage of that NU-Adamson encounter was so filled with technical glitches that officials from official coveror GMA News TV deemed it unfit for broadcast. As of this writing, the material gathered from that game was being edited and may be shown on a later date.
Once the power fiasco was solved the second match commenced with Ateneo unveiling an old yet still surprising strategy against Tigresses. I asked Lady Eagles Head Coach Roger Gorayeb what he had up his sleeve for the game, and his answer was merely, “Manuod ka lang, maaalala mo ito (Just watch, you’ll remember this).
When the starting six hit the floor it was immediately apparent: open-hitter Alyssa Valdez was moved to the middle-attacker position; a ploy Gorayeb used in Game 1 of the UAAP Finals against the De La Salle Univeristy (DLSU) Lady Spikers which almost netted the Katipuneras a victory in that opener. This time, the Ateneo alignment had Valdez at center with volume scorers Rachel Anne Daquis and Jaorensri Bualee as the open-hitters and Fille Cainglet at the utility-spiker spot.
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It looked lethal and it was, at least in the first set as UST could not cover all of the Lady Eagles guns and Ateneo cruised to a 25-13 shellacking of the Tigresses.
UST Head Coach Odjie Mamon, however, is also considered one of the best tacticians in the game today and an expert at adjustments. The Tigresses defenses began covering more floor space and also began finding gaps in Ateneo’s net defenses as guest player and former league MVP Aiza Maizo began asserting her will. The Lady Eagles kept hounding UST, but the poise of the Tigresses allowed them to prevail as the Españans took the second set, 25-23 on a Daquis misread of a Rhea Dimaculangan serve.
Like in Game 1, the third set saw UST race to a quick lead but then Ateneo just pursued all over again. The big difference for the Lady Eagles was the more consistent play of Bualee who had many quality opportunities from the Jem Ferrer sets and once Valdez began finding her groove once again, the Tigresses began yielding. This time, Ateneo didn’t need to extend the set as they got the cluster of points they needed in the endgame to come away with a 25-23 come-from-behind thriller which all but deflated—once again—UST’s game.
The fourth set became a clinic of how to put a demoralized squad away as Bualee, Valdez and a resurgent Cainglet just blasted away practically at will. The game became so lopsided at that point that Gorayeb was able to insert crowd-favorite Mae Tajima during scrubtime as Ateneo pounded UST 25-13 to now await the victor of the NU-Adamson rubber.
The Finals begin on Thursday, May 23 once again the MOA Arena. Game 1 of the Finals will also coincide with the individual awards ceremonies which will be conducted in between that match and the Battle For Third—wherein which UST awaits its date.
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For the millions of rabid televiewers, the organizers—Sports Vision Management Group, Inc.—has announced that Game 2 of the Finals (as well as the Battle For Third) on May 26th (still at the MOA Arena) will be aired LIVE on GMA News TV. Telecast will begin at 1:00PM. Should there be a Game 3, it will be played on the following Sunday (June 2) at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City and will also be aired LIVE on GMA News TV.
I will be broadcasting that final semis match between NU and Adamson this Sunday. I believe I will be joined by the Remulla sisters. I believe you will also join me at the San Juan Arena.
This will be an all-out war.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate)
