ATENEO blessed with a young but talented spikers, achieved their second semifinals appearance in three years by beating also-ran University of the East, 25-16, 27-25, 25-17, Saturday in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
By posting a 9-4 slate, the Lady Eagles surpassed its eight-win total in 2007-08, the season where the Ateneo entered the ‘Final Four’ for the first time since joining the league in 1978.
“There’s nothing special about this. Pumasok kami sa semifinals dahil sa nasunod naman ang lahat ng pinapagawa namin sa ensayo at sa laro,” said Lady Eagles mentor Roger Gorayeb.
A multi-titled San Sebastian College mentor in the NCAA, Gorayeb took charge for Ateneo last year, where they missed the semifinals.
“Maganda ang chemisty ng team. Out of 10, nasa nine na ang level ng inilalaro ng mga bata, I’m very satisfied,” he added.
Dzi Gervacio topscored with 17 hits while Fille Cainglet added 11 points for the Lady Eagles.
Ateneo will cap its elimination round against Adamson on Feb. 13, in a duel which has a big implication for the No. 3 seeding in the playoffs. The loser of the match would possibly meet defending champion La Salle in the semifinals.
In the second frame, the Lady Warriors had 19-12 advantage when Cainglet took charge in a Lady Eagles uprising to take a 25-24 lead.
An attacking error by Dawn Dizon gave Ateneo the second set.
Mary Cristel Rosale finished with 14 hits while Dizon chipped in 10 points for UE.
The Lady Warriors fell to 1-11.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern University hopes to keep its slim semifinals hopes alive against second-running University of Santo Tomas today.
A loss by the Lady Tamaraws in the duel set at 4 p.m. would complete the ‘Final Four’ cast and allowing the Tigresses to clinch the second ‘twice-to-beat’ incentive.
Pau Soriano collected a season-high 23 points while Angela Benting added 16 hits as Adamson moved closer in clinching the last semifinals berth with a 21-25, 25-9, 25-13, 25-14 victory over the University of the Philippines.
Now holding a two and a half lead over the fifth-running Lady Tamaraws (5-6), the Lady Falcons moved up to 8-4, while the Lady Maroons fell to a 4-9 record.
In the men’s division, FEU took the ‘twice-to-beat’ semifinals bonus with a 20-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-13 win over La Salle for a 10-2 card.
The Blue Eagles remained in the hunt for the last ‘Final Four’ slot by outlasting the Fighting Maroons, 25-23, 29-27, 23-25, 25-20, and tie the Green Archers at 6-5. (TJ)
