Lady Spikers aim for 7th final berth vs Bulldogs

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle guns for its seventh straight finals appearance and a dream duel with unbeaten rival Ateneo as the second-ranked Lady Spikers take on the No. 3 National U Lady Bulldogs today in the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball stepladder semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Spikers try to make the most out of their twice-to-beat advantage in the 4 p.m. match against the Lady Bulldogs to advance and set up a title rematch with the Lady Eagles, who flew straight into the championship with a sweep of the elims.

Meanwhile, three-peat-seeking NU and Ateneo begin their best of three showdown for the men’s crown at 2 p.m.

La Salle had two weeks to recover from its numbing 20-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-27 setback to Ateneo in the elims and correct some more flaws in its game moving forward to the higher phase of hostilities.

“New start dapat sa amin ang stepladder, dito na lang kami babawi (We should consider the stepladder a new start for us and a chance to redeem ourselves),” said La Salle star Ara Galang.

The Lady Bulldogs earned the right to face No. 2 La Salle after a hacking out a 25-13, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23 victory over fourth-ranked Far Eastern U last Wednesday.

“Malakas na team yan. Yung spirit nila, sanay sila sa mga ganitong laban. Tignan na lang natin kung ano ang mangyayari. Sana mapunta sa amin yung mga break against La Salle, (La Salle is a strong team and they’re used to these kinds of matches. Hope breaks of the game will come our way),” said NU coach Roger Gorayeb.   

– Olmin Leyba

Both NU and DLSU aim to borrow a page from Ateneo’s playbook last season. The then third-ranked Lady Eagles climbed their way to the top, beating twice-to-beat semis rival NU and thrice-to-beat finalist La Salle.

“Hindi naman masamang mangarap, libre naman. Malay mo. Akalain ba natin last year na magawa ng Ateneo yun. E bakit hindi magagawa ng mga batang ito? (We can dream. Who would have imagined Ateneo could do it last year? Why can’t these girls do it too?)” said Gorayeb. “They have the capacity, capability. We just have to tell them na kaya niyo yan (they can do it).”

La Salle is aching to give early finalist Ateneo a dose of its own medicine if they meet again.

“Kailangan naming mapatunayan na kaya rin namin kung ano ang ginawa nila sa amin last year (We want to prove we can duplicate what they did to us in the previous finals),” Galang said.

In men’s play, the Bulldogs seek to sustain the momentum from their ego-boosting two-game toppling of higher-ranked Santo Tomas in the Final Four to close in on a third consecutive crown.

“Kailangang mag-double time kami sa blocking and sa receive (We have to work doubly hard in blocking and receiving),” said NU coach Dante Alinsunurin, whose team is expected to be led by Peter Torres, Rueben Inaudito, Edwin Tolentino and Berlin Paglinawan.

“Matibay ang NU (NU is  tough nut to crack), they are tall and talented. We need to be prepared physically and mentally. We need to address how to close out in each set. We are aiming to get better,” said Ateneo coach Oliver Almadro.