Ateneo, Lyceum duel for 'B' lead

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo and Lyceum mix it up today in a duel of unbeaten teams as they try to zero in on the No. 1 spot in Group B heading into the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Eagles came back from a two-week layoff and swept Univ. of San Jose-Recoletos last Sunday to match the Lady Pirates’ impressive start in the two-division tournament featuring the country’s top collegiate women’s volley teams.

The winner in the 4 p.m. match will get an inside track for the top spot in Group B although the chase for No. 1 will go down to the final elims day on Thursday when Ateneo tangles with Adamson and Lyceum battles USJ-R.

Defending champion University of Santo Tomas, meanwhile, tries to bounce back from its loss to San Sebastian, also last Sunday, as it takes on University of St. La Salle-Bacolod at 2 p.m. for the No. 2 slot in Group A of the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and presented by PLDT MyDSL.

The top four teams in each group after the single round elims will advance to the quarters where they will again be divided into two with the Nos. 1 and 3 teams making up the first group and the Nos. 2 and 4 squads composing the other side.

While the Tigresses are fancied over the Lady Stingers, who are also into the quarters with an even 1-1 card, the Ateneo-Lyceum duel remains a tossup with neither team holding a distinct advantage over the other.

Focus will be on the Thai imports of both teams with Ateneo’s Sontaya Keawbundit, who unloaded 26 spikes in two games, going up against Lyceum’s Porntip Santrong, who had been more prolific with a 26-kill average after two games.