Will Suns rise to eclipse Troopers in Shakey’s V-L?

MANILA, Philippines - Ranged against the league’s most fancied team, Cagayan Valley is wary of its chances but hopeful of scoring a repeat in the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 Open Conference finals which starts tomorrow at The Arena in San Juan.

“Army is a strong team but beatable,” said Cagayan coach Nes Pamilar, whose wards split their two face-offs with the Lady Troopers this conference, both in four-set fashions.

Two days before the start of the best-of-three series for the championship in the mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s and backed by Mikasa and Accel, Pamilar said they would need to match the Lady Troopers’ fierceness both in attacks and receptions to make it back-to-back.

“We have to match their aggressiveness if we want to beat them,” said Pamilar, who steered the Rising Suns to a 16-game sweep of last year’s crown, a first in the league where it all started. “And we’re doing good based on our last few games.”

Truly, the Rising Suns rose from the brink of elimination in the quarters to emerge the Troopers’ rightful challengers, winning a crucial match against Air Force to clinch the No. 3 seat in the Final Four and then sweeping the PLDT Home Telpad Turbo Boosters in the semis to keep their title-retention bid going.

Pamilar has been drawing big games from Aiza Maizo, Janine Marciano, Pau Soriano, Rosemarie Vargas, Wenneth Eulalio, Joy Benito and libera Shiela Pineda. But the Rising Suns must be able to neutralize Army’s awesome foursome of Rachel Ann Daquis, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Mary Jane Balse and Nerissa Bautista, four of the league’s top 10 scorers.

Cagayan did stop the four Army hitters in their thrilling 27-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22 win in the elims last July 24 but the Lady Troopers struck back in the quarters and fashioned out a 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-16 win last Aug. 7.

The Suns and the Troopers then swept the Turbo Boosters and the Air Spikers, respectively, to seal the title clash between the league’s powerhouse teams.