Amelia Guanco, Michelle Laborte and Cecille Tabuena combined for only 22 points but they came when the Lady Eagles needed them most, particularly toward the end of the last three sets that defused the Lady Tams’ repeated rallies.
It was Ateneo’s third win against two losses as it wheeled back to third place behind La Salle and San Sebastian.
The Lady Archers, showing the stuff champions are made of, sent the Lady Stags crashing back to earth with a straight-set 25-23, 25-18, 25-20 victory in the second game.
The victory was La Salle’s fourth straight in as many games as it seized control of the pack while dealing San Sebastian its first loss after streaking to four straight wins.
Michelle Carolino and Maureen Penetrante dominated for La Salle again as they combined for 28 points, including 21 on attacks, to anchor the team’s one-hour victory.
"This is a good time to try out my Ateneo players kahit may mga ate sila na naglalaro sa national pool," said Ateneo coach Louie Gepuela, referring to Guanco, Laborte and Tabuena, who are all members of the RP pool.
Varsity players Rosario Soriano and Patricia Taganas actually led the attack for Ateneo with 14 and 11 hits, respectively, but with the Lady Tams refusing to give up, the Lady Eagles needed the heroics of the awesome threesome.
Mary Ann Manalo and Ruby May Rovira paced the Morayta-based spikers with 20 and 17 hits, respectively, but just couldn’t sustain the firepower as FEU reeled to its fourth loss against a victory in the tournament put up by Shakey’s Pizza.
After dropping the first set, the Katipunan-based squad struck back by winning the next three with the Taganas-Soriano duo drawing significant help from their more seasoned reinforcements.
The last set, however, wasn’t easy though.
After Ateneo stormed to a 23-18 lead, Gepuela opted to field in his varsity players who failed to keep the Lady Eagles’ heads above water, enabling FEU to tie it at 23-all.