Lady Tams subdue Blazers; Eagles pound SSC tossers

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern U checked its two-game skid as it scuttled St. Benilde, 25-14, 25-19, 24-26, 25-18, to keep its hold of second spot behind University of Santo Tomas in the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Lady Tams, who finished with an impressive 6-1 stint in the elims but dropped their first two matches in the quarters, leaned on their solid service to take the first two sets then recovered from a third set setback to clinch the victory in 1:31.

With a 7-3 slate, FEU stayed on track of its drive for a semis berth in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza while dampening St. Benilde’s own bid. The Lady Blazers, who stunned the Ateneo-OraCare side the last time out, dropped to 3-6.

“We focused more on our service,” said FEU coach Nes Pamilar, whose wards rammed in 14 service winners, including five from top hitter Cherry Vivas and fourth from guest player Rachel Daquis. “But we really have to learn to protect our lead.”

Fille Cainglet fired 21 points while Bea Pascua dished out a solid game of 15 hits, including three blocks, as Ateneo-OraCare beat San Sebastian, 28-26, 14-25, 25-23, 25-16, to gain a share of third with its victim at 6-4.

Denise Acevedo and Angeline Gervacio added 11 points apiece while Gretchen Ho tossed in eight points for the Lady Eagles, who bucked the absence of guest player Charo Soriano to turn back the reigning five-time NCAA champions in the second game.

Margarita Pepito had 14 hits, Joy Benito scored 13 points while guest player Jinni Mondejar added 11 points for the Lady Stags, who stopped the UST Tigresses’ seven-game run with a 3-1 victory last Tuesday.

After sweeping the first two sets, the Lady Tams turned complacent and blew a 23-15 lead in the third, enabling the Lady Blazers to snatch the set and extend the match.

But the Lady Tams re-stamped their class in the fourth, racing to an 18-8 advantage before thwarting every St. Benilde attack with solid net defense and superb court coverage and an offense anchored on Vivas and Shaira Gonzalez.

Vivas wound up with 21 hits while Daquis and Gonzalez added 20 and 17 points, respectively, for FEU, which braced for tomorrow’s big fight with the San Sebastian in the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare.