Lady Eagles go for clincher

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo tries to finish off Adamson today and annex its first-ever Shakey’s V-League championship in Game Two of their best-of-three series for the eighth season’s first conference crown at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Eagles surprised the fancied Lady Falcons with 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20 victory in the opener last Sunday to move within a win from finally bagging the elusive crown after a series of sorry campaigns, including a setback to the same team in the 2008 first conference finals.

They brace for a big Adamson comeback in their 4 p.m. encounter but the Lady Eagles will be more than ready to neutralize the Falcons’ expected surge and avoid going to a wringer of a sudden death.

“We’ll have some minor adjustments, especially on our reception,” said Ateneo coach Charo Soriano, also seeking to win a crown on her rookie year.

For live streaming of the games, log on to www.v-league.ph.

Despite the win, the former Ateneo star said the Lady Eagles had a hard time getting the ball to their setter (Jem Ferrer), saying: “That’s why it was very hard coming up with combination plays where we normally scores.”

But Adamson coach Dulce Pante said the Lady Eagles were just a bit lucky to take the series opener and vowed to square off the series.

“I think they (Lady Eagles) were just lucky as my stars’ games were off that day.  But we’re not losing hope and I believe we can still win,” said Pante.

Ateneo, which last won a major women’s volley title way back in the 1976-77 NCAA tournament, will again pin its hopes on Thai ace and newly-crowned MVP Lithawat Kesinee, Fille Cainglet, Alyssa Valdez and Ferrer with the 25-year-old Soriano also eyeing to become the youngest coach to win in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Lithawat finished with 24 hits, including a conference-high 13 blocks in Game One.

“We’re going to focus more on our coverage. They (Lady Falcons) have really good blockers,” said Soriano who also stressed the need for her wards to minimize their service errors.

Pante, meanwhile, hopes her stars will step up, including guest players Nerissa Bautista and Michelle Laborte along with mainstays Angela Benting and Pau Soriano as the Lady Falcons try to remain on track of a second straight championship in the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Accel.

Meanwhile, University of St. La Salle-Bacolod also tries to wrap up its own best-of-three playoff for third with National University at 2 p.m.

The Lady Stingers also fought back from an opening set loss to beat the Bulldogs, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-22.