UST, SSC try to zero in on semis vs Blazers, Pirates

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion UST and title contender San Sebastian hope to make the most of their rewarding stint in the elims as they battle St. Benilde and Lyceum, respectively, at the start of the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 at The Arena in San Juan today.

The Tigresses and the Lady Stags are two of the four teams which benefited from the league’s novel format, wherein teams which tangled in the group elims will no longer play each other in the quarters although results will be carried over.

Thus, UST, which fell in Group B with Ateneo, Southwestern U and St. Benilde, will no longer battle SWU, which it defeated in the elims of the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and presented by PLDT MyDSL.

SSC, on the other hand, heads the Group A cast that includes Lyceum, University of St. La Salle-Bacolod and Adamson with the Lady Stags holding a 1-0 slate after beating USLS-B in the prelims.

The other teams with 1-0 cards in the quarters are Ateneo and Lyceum.

Among the quarterfinalists, however, Lyceum looms as the team to watch after the Lady Pirates posted three victories against a loss in the qualifiers.

Porntip Santrong has normed 19 hits in the elims and is expected to step up in the quarters, particularly against the Lady Stags where she will be pitted against fellow Thai Jeng Bualee, the league’s leading scorer with a 20-point average.

With the Thai imports expected to neutralize each other, focus will be on the local support with SSC hoping to draw solid games from leading spiker Suzanne Roces, Joy Benito and Elaine Cruz and Lyceum to lean on Joy Cases, Dahlia Cruz, Nica Guliman, Syvie Artates, Jamie Peña, Kailyn Peñamante and Ann Tabafunda.