Tigresses, Falcons seek title showdown

MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas and Adamson try to arrange a first-ever showdown for the Shakey’s V-League crown as they go for repeat wins over Far Eastern U and San Sebastian, respectively, in Game Two of their Final Four duels at The Arena in San Juan today.

The Tigresses, seeking a sweep of Season 6’s twin titles, held off the Lady Tams, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20, in the opener of their best-of-three series last Tuesday and are expected to reassert their might to advance to their eighth finals appearance in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

The Lady Falcons, on the other hand, came through with a cliffhanger of a win over a fancied SSC side, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-11, 15-11, as they moved closer to a second championship stint since beating the Ateneo Lady Eagles for the 2008 First Conference crown.

UST and FEU mix it up in the 2 p.m. opener while Adamson and San Sebastian tangle at 4 p.m. Games can be viewed live on webcast on www.v-league.ph, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

But while UST and Adamson zero in on the finals, expect the Lady Tams and the Stags to go all out for victories to send the matches into a pair of winner-take-all affairs on Sunday.

To stop the Tigresses, Cherry Vivas and Shaira Gonzalez must step up and provide the needed firepower for the Lady Tams. The top-scoring FEU pair was limited to just nine and eight points in Game One after averaging 18 and 17 points, respectively, heading into the Final Four.

In fact, only Rachel Daquis managed to churn out a double-digit score of 14 points for FEU, which dished out impressive games in the elims to finish No. 2 but slowed down in the quarters and had to go through a playoff against Ateneo-Oracare to clinch the last semis slot.

UST remains formidable with the troika of Aiza Maizo, Angeli Tabaquero and rookie Maru Banaticla playing to their true potential and the rest backing them up with superb reception and court coverage to set up a number of quick plays. Tabaquero also displayed her defensive prowess as she combined with Maika Ortiz for eight blocks in the series’ opener.

San Sebastian, itching to get back at UST after losing the first conference crown in the league backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare, hopes to neutralize the power-hitting Angela Benting and Jill Gustilo, who unloaded a league record-tying 37 hits and a personal conference-high of 24 points, respectively, for Adamson in Game One.

The Lady Stags actually took a 2-1 lead after three sets but got clobbered by the charging Lady Falcons in the fourth then lost steam in the deciding frame to yield the match.

Joy Benito, Jinni Mondejar and Dafna Robinos did play solid offense in the first game but the Lady Stags just couldn’t hack it out in defense, enabling Benting and Gustilo to deliver the blows with their power off the net through Adamson’s excellent set plays.

Benting, now the league’s leading scorer with a 19-hit norm, will again lead Adamson’s charge together with Gustilo. Pau Soriano, who averaged 14 points for FEU heading into the semis, is also expected to join the attack after being relegated to the background with four points in the face of Benting and Gustilo’s awesome offensive games.