Raiders, Rising Suns dispute 3rd semis berth

Games today

2 p.m. – Cagayan vs Air Force

4 p.m. – Army vs PLDT

MANILA, Philippines - Air Force and Cagayan Valley clash today in what promises to be a dogfight for the hotly disputed third semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Rising Suns swept the Raiders last July 17 on their way to forcing a three-way tie for the lead after the elims but the former’s game took a spin in the quarters, losing all their four games and finding themselves on the brink of missing the Final Four in the conference they ruled via a record 16-game sweep last year.

Dropping to fifth at 6-5 behind No. 3 Air Force (7-4) and No. 4 Ateneo (7-5), Cagayan needs to prevail over Air Force in their 2 p.m. encounter to either advance outright or earn a playoff for the last semis seat in the mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s and backed by MIkasa and Accel.

Semifinalists Army and PLDT Home Telpad, meanwhile, dispute the top spot going to the Final Four. The Lady Troopers and the Turbo Boosters tote similar 8-3 marks with the winner in their 4 p.m. encounter clinching the No. 1 spot for a semis duel with the No. 4 team.

Games can be viewed live on www.v-league.ph <http://www.v-league.ph/> and will be shown on a delayed basis on GMA News TV Channel, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

To clinch the automatic semis slot, the Rising Suns must win in three sets, leaving the Raiders and the Lady Eagles to dispute the last Final Four seat in a playoff on Tuesday.

If Cagayan wins in four, either the Rising Suns or the Lady Eagles will clinch the No. 3 spot depending on the scores quotient to be determined after the match. The team with the inferior quotient falls into the a playoff with the Raiders.