Army spikers roll past Altas, wrest lead

MANILA, Philippines - Joanne Buñag delivered 15 hits while Marietta Carolino and Mary Jean Balse came through with four blocks each as Philippine Army swept past Perpetual Help, 28-26, 25-17, 25-22, to regain the solo lead in the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Army ladies thwarted the Altas’ tough stand in the opening set, dominated the second before hanging tough in the third to fashion out their second straight-set victory that shoved them back to the top with a 3-0 card.

Buñag took charge for Army with 13 attacks and scored two more points off the serve while Carolino and Balse took care of the net as Army zeroed in on a quarterfinal berth while dealing Perpetual its fifth straight loss in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Piyatida Lasungnern led Perpetual with 14 kills for a 15-point output while fellow Thai import Wirawan Sattayanuchit added nine attacks but Honey Tubino, the team’s leading scorer, struggled for just eight hits.

Earlier, Navy drew a superb all-around game from Suzanne Roces as it completed a 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 victory over a skidding Ateneo side to enhance its quarterfinal drive in the league backed by Accel, Mikasa and Maynilad Water.

Roces made seven hits, three blocks and four service points as she teamed up with fellow guest player Nerissa Bautista in steering the team to its second straight victory after dropping their first match to power Army.

Bautista, a former league MVP, scattered 15 hits, including 13 attacks, while Michelle Laborte and Cecile Cruzada added 11 and 10 hits, respectively, for the Navy ladies who moved up to solo fourth at 2-1.

Ateneo, winner of the first conference crown of the league organized by Sports Vision, fell to its third straight defeat after back-to-back wins but remained within the six-team quarterfinal circle in fifth.

The Lady Eagles tried to extend the match when they took charge in the early going of the third set, 10-5 and 11-8, but wavered in the face of the Navy’s searing fightback anchored on Cruzada and Roces.

Cruzada’s back-to-back hits shoved Navy to a 19-18 lead before the team pounced on three errors of Ateneo and a Roces spike at endgame to complete the straight-set romp.

The Loyola-based squad, which opened its bid for a second straight championship in the league with a pair of straight-set wins over Maynilad and Perpetual Help came into the match reeling from tough four-set losses to Air Force and San Sebastian.