UST Tigresses force sudden death; Lady Eagles cop 3rd

University of Santo Tomas flashed its old championship form and got back at San Sebastian College, fashioning out an imposing 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 victory yesterday to force a sudden death for the Shakey’s V-League Second Conference crown before a big Sunday crowd at The Arena in San Juan.

The Tigresses put on a fine defensive job on SSC’s Bualee Jaroensri, holding the prolific Thai import to 17 points while Suzanne Roces and Mary Jean Balse delivered 28 points for UST, which stayed on course for a back-to-back title bid in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

San Sebastian, which outlasted UAAP champion UST in a classic five-setter, 25-16, 25-19, 17-25, 23-25, 15-13, in the opener of their best-of-three series Friday, never recovered from a shaky start and struggled the rest of the way.

“Our reception and blocking clicked,” said UST coach August Sta. Maria. “Balse’s solid game also inspired her teammates – that’s why we were able to bounce back.”

UST and SSC dispute the title in sudden death at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Ateneo lived through three hard-fought sets and outsteadied Adamson for the second straight time, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23, to capture third place honors.

Earlier, Shakey’s top officials, led by Shakey’s marketing director Meggie Jose, general manager Vic Gregorio and Leopoldo “Chukri” Prieto III, Shakey’s consultant and director of International Family Food Services, Inc., awarded the trophies to the conference’s top players.

Other winners were SSC’s Bualee Jaroensri (best attacker), La Salle’s Jacqueline Alarca (best server), Adamson’s Lizlee Ann Gata (best digger), SSC’s Charisse Vernon Ancheta (best setter), SSC’s Mary Jane Pepito (best receiver).

Others who graced the rites were directors Ricky Palou, Nolan Bernardino and Tony Boy Liao, also the league’s commissioner, of the organizing Sports Vision.

Roces and Balse actually anchored UST’s solid net defense with four blocks apiece while Angeli Tabaquero and Venus Bernal backed the duo with a combined 16-point output.

The Tigresses, who swept the Lady Stags in the final to claim the first conference crown last July, stamped their class early with Roces and Balse scoring on quick plays and the rest backing them up with superb court coverage to win the first two sets in runaway fashions.

Jaroensri, who came through with 25 points in Game One, finished with 17 points while Laurence Ann Latigay, who scored the game winners for the NCAA titlists in the series’ opener on her way to a 28-point output, also groped for 11 points.

The Ateneo-Adamson game will be shown on NBN-4 starting at 2 p.m. today while the SSC-UST duel will be aired tomorrow.