MANILA, Philippines - San Sebastian outlasted defending champion in the deciding set, pulling off a thrilling 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13, victory to tow idle Univ. of Santo Tomas into the semifinal round of the sixth Shakey’s V-League at The Arena in San Juan last night.
Thai import Jaroensri Bualee shrugged off poor form and scored 22 hits, including the match-clinching hit while three others churned out double-digit scores to lift the Lady Stags to their third straight win.
SSC thus caught up with UST at the helm as they booked the first two spots in the semifinal round of the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and presented by Cherifer.
The setback was Adamson’s second against a lone win, keeping winless Univ. of St. La Salle-Bacolod and Univ. of San Jose-Recoletos in the hunt for the last semis berth.
Reigning MVP Nene Bautista fired 20 points while Jill Gustilo had five blocks and finished with 16 points and Angela Benting chipped in 11 points for the defending champions.
Earlier, Far Eastern U recovered from a shaky start to repulse a surprisingly tough USLS-Bacolod, 23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-23, to move up to third with a 2-1 card.
Maica Morada scored with a crosscourt hit to shatter a 23-all count in the fourth set then the Lady Tams watch USLS’ libero Realyn Valeriano’s dig went wide to clinch the hard-earned victory in 1:46.
Morada finished with 17 hits behind Rachel Ann Daquis’ game-high 20-point output she spiked with five service points. – With report from contributor Celest Flores