Lady Eagles survive Altas

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo battled back from a set down then pulled through in a pulsating fifth set duel to foil newcomer Perpetual Help, 25-15, 14-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12, and join San Sebastian-Excelroof at the helm in the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 second conference at The Arena in San Juan last night.

Guest player Alyssa Valdez came through with a hit then Gretchen Ho scored on a quick play for the Lady Eagles’ last two points that finally scuttled the Lady Altas’ bid for another upset after upending Adamson last Thursday.

It was Ateneo’s second straight win after sweeping Far Eastern U in the inaugurals but Perpetual Help’s gutsy stand further underscored the team’s readiness to contend for the crown on its very first try in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Thai import Boonyuen Surasawadee topscored for Ateneo with 23 hits but it was the pair of Valdez and Ho which saved the day for the Lady Eagles, who stared at defeat after falling 1-2 in the first three sets.

Valdez wound up with 14 points, including 13 kills, while Ho finished with nine points, the same outputs put in by Fille Cainglet and Denise Acevedo.

Sandra delos Santos led Perpetual with 21 points while three others churned out double-digit scores with Nica Guliman scoring 17, Ronerry dela Cruz ramming in 16 hits and April Sartin adding 11 points.

Earlier, Far Eastern U bounced back from back-to-back setbacks as it thwarted St. Benilde, 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22, in a duel of struggling teams to break into the win column after three games in the tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Accel, Mikasa and Excelroof.

Guest player Rachel Daquis took charge for the Lady Tams with 25 hits, the last two clinching the one-hour, 46-minute victory for the Morayta-based squad which wheeled back into contention after dropping its first two games to Ateneo and Lyceum.

St. Benilde, which fended off a sweep by winning the third set and tried to hang on through Cindy Optana and Giza Yumang in the fourth, slid to 0-3 and in danger of missing the quarterfinal race of the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Daquis spiked her splendid performance with three service aces and led the team in digs and reception.

She drew solid support from co-guest player Michelle Carolino, who unwrapped a 20-hit game that included 18 spikes, while Cherry May Vivas and Kathlene Magsumbol tossed in eight points apiece for the Lady Tams.

Yumang led St. Benilde with 17 kills and wound up with 19 points while Optana and Rossan Fajardo came through with 12 hits apiece for the Lady Blazers, who engaged the Lady Tams in closely fought sets but just couldn’t come up with a stronger finishing kick.

“They relaxed in the third set because the tendency is for them to slow down after winning the first two sets,” said FEU coach Nestor Pamilar in Filipino. “But I told them to just stay focused.”