UST, La Salle netters forge title showdown

University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle completed a dream showdown for the inaugural Shakey’s V-League crown when they swept their respective rivals in similar fashions in the semifinal round yesterday at the Lyceum gym.

The Tigresses, dragged into a thrilling five-setter by the Lyceum Lady Pirates the first time out, stamped their class over the hosts this time, dropping only one set in the second before completing a 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14 victory.

Earlier, the La Salle netters gave undermanned San Sebastian little room to operate as they came away with a straight-set 25-20, 27-25, 25-23 victory to likewise complete a two-game sweep in their own side of the semis duel.

Game One of the best-of-three finals starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. It will be telecast "live" over IBC-13. Admission is free.

Skipper Maureen Penetrante and 2003 MVP Desiree Hernandez teamed up by peppering the Lady Stags with a combined output of 26 points, 22 of which coming on attacks that clinched the Lady Archers the first berth in the finals of the event sponsored by Shakey’s.

"We’re happy we made it this far," said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus, who steered the Taft-based school to two UAAP volleyball titles in his eight-year coaching stint.

"Our next step is to prepare hard for the championship," he added.

It was actually La Salle’s ninth straight win in the event backed by Mikasa and Accel after dropping its opening day game to University of Santo Tomas. which is seeking the other championship berth against Lyceum at presstime.

The UST netters flirted with disaster in Game 1 last Sunday but pulled through against the hosts just the same, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-6.

But if the Emil Lontoc-mentored Lyceum forces a decider with a win in Game 2, the finals will be played on Sunday at the same venue.

Unlike in their 25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 25-7 Game 1 win, La Salle found San Sebastian a tough nut to crack yesterday as the former struggled in the first two sets with top hitter Carissa Gotis coming late in the game to honor a previous school commitment.

La Salle, however, hardly missed the services of the 18-year-old Mass Media Studies student as the frontline duo of Penetrante and Hernandez filled in the slack with their power spikes and rock solid defense up front.

Gotis started to see action only in the third set even without the benefit of a warm-up which the Lady Stags pounced to seize a 16-13 lead in one stretch, courtesy of Angel Descalsota, who stepped up for injured frontline partner Jinni Mondejar.

But after the last of the two mandatory time-outs usually called in a set, the four-peat NCAA champion suddenly turned cold and self-destructed in the face of the Lady Archers’ torrid comeback.
The power-spiking Gotis erupted with seven points, highlighted by two aces, all coming in the dramatic third set.

"Alam naman ni coach na kahit walang warm-up, kaya kong maglaro," said Gotis.