FEU, NU collide in V-League crucial tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern U and National U collide today in a key match-up for a quarterfinal berth while Ateneo goes for a sweep of Group A against winless Southwestern U in the ninth Shakey’s V-League Presented by Smart at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Tams swept the SWU Lady Cobras Tuesday to make up for an opening day loss to Ateneo and stay in the hunt for a spot in the next round, also in Group A. The Lady Bulldogs also rebounded from back-to-back setbacks with a win also over the Cobras.

That makes the 2 p.m. match a crucial one for FEU and NU with the winner joining Ateneo in the next round of the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and backed by Mikasa and Accel.

FEU hopes to neutralize the power-hitting Din-Din Santiago, who unloaded a whopping 31-hit game against SWU, and a gritty NU side that includes Maricar Nepomuceno, Rizza Mandapat and Myla Pablo, and build the needed momentum for its final elims match against reigning NCAA champion Perpetual Help.

FEU coach Nes Pamilar is expected to lean on mainstays Rosemarie Vargas, Wenneth Eulalio and Marie Basas while hoping that Thai reinforcement Eve Sanorseang to finally settle down with her game and complement with the team’s play patterns.

Defending champion Ateneo, meanwhile, is fancied to get past SWU in the 4 p.m. match for a sweep of the single round elims even as University of St. La Salle-Bacolod seeks to seal a quarters seat in Group B against former six-time champion and qualifier University of Santo Tomas at 6 p.m.

The Lady Stingers ousted the Letran Lady Knights in a five-setter last Thursday to keep their quarters hope alive with a 1-1 card although they need to work doubly hard against the Tigresses, who swept their first two matches against Letran and Adamson.

For live streaming of the games, log on to www.v-league.ph <http://www.v-league.ph> .