Defense key to Tigresses bid in finale

Down 0-1 in a short best-of-three playoff for the Shakey’s V-League crown, UST needs to work on one aspect of the game if it wants to send the series to a deciding match.

"We’ll have to really work on our reception and we also have to make adjustments in our blocking," said UST coach August Sta. Maria, after his Tigresses bowed to the La Salle Lady Archers, 21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-27, in the series’ opener Monday.

"If we can do these things, we’ll have a chance to force Game Three and possibly win," he added.

Truly, defense holds key in the title playoff with the Lady Archers, behind Maureen Penetrante and Concepcion Legaspi, beating the Tigresses in that department, 16-7, to pull off the win.

UST, winner of last year’s inaugural staging of this event sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza, actually outscored La Salle in attacks, 53-47, but still lost in a close encounter.

Game Two is set at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Rizal Coliseum with the Taft-based spikers going all-out for a sweep like the way they did over the Tigresses in the 2004 second conference finals.

"Maganda ang depensa nila (La Salle), hopefully we can match, if not surpass, the intensity they displayed in defense," said Sta. Maria.

Playing defense means tall, long-armed Roxanne Pimentel, power-hitting Mary Jean Balse, high-leaping Joyce Paño and wiry Venus Bernal should step up a notch higher upfront and the rest providing the needed court coverage at the back.

These, and more, the Lady Archers did when they overpowered the Tigresses before a big, appreciative Monday crowd at the Makati Coliseum.

Penetrante and Legaspi proved rock-solid with their net defense as they blocked a total of 14 spikes, mostly from Pimentel, Bernal, Paño and Balse.

Equally impressive were the duo of libero Shermaine Penano and Manilla Santos, who combined for 19 excellent digs that complemented well with the solid net defense by Penetrante and Concepcion.

"Our plan is to really play defense because defense won it for us last conference. Sana makuha ulit namin ito," said La Salle mentor Ramil de Jesus. — Joey Villar