Perpetual, USLS eye V-League quarters

MANILA, Philippines - Perpetual Help and University of St. La Salle-Bacolod go for crucial wins against a pair of struggling rivals today as the quarters race heats up in the penultimate elims playdate of the ninth Shakey’s V-League Presented by Smart at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Altas, toting a 1-1 card, take on the winless Southwestern U side in Group A at 2 p.m., needing no less than a victory to seal their stint in the next round.

But the Lady Cobras will surely be going all out to foil the reigning NCAA champions and keep their flickering quarters hope alive in the season-opening conference of the country’s premier women’s volley league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Perpetual nipped National U in five sets last April 26 but took a straight-set setback to Ateneo last week, dropping the Lady Altas to third in the five-team group.

USLS, on the other hand, faces a tougher rival in former two-time champion but winless Adamson in the 4 p.m. main contest with the Lady Stingers gunning for a win to advance and avoid the specter of going through a playoff for the last quarters berth in Group B.

But expect the Lady Falcons to fight to the end after absorbing a pair of 1-3 losses to qualifiers San Sebastian and UST, which clinched the top two quarters seats in the group with 3-0 cards. They will dispute the top spot at the close of the elims on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Tigresses, with Judy Caballero firing 14 hits and former MVP Mary Jean Balse adding 12 points, capped last Sunday’s sweep of the fancied teams as they toppled the Lady Stingers, 25-23, 25-12, 25-14, to match SSC’s unbeaten run in the event backed by Mikasa and Accel.

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

The top four teams from each group after the single round elims will advance to the quarters, where they will be grouped into one for another one round competition. However, teams that clashed in the elims will no longer meet in the quarters although their records will be carried over. The top four squads will advance to the crossover semis, a pair of best-of-three matches between Nos. 1 and 4 and Nos. 2 and 3 with the winners disputing the crown in another best-of-three duel.