Lady Troopers drown Sailors, gain V-League semis

MANILA, Philippines - Army put away Navy in three with its power game, superb blocking and awesome serving, fashioning out a 25-14, 25-17, 25-14 victory to clinch the first semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Reinforced Conference at The Arena in San Juan City late Saturday.

The Lady Troopers didn’t play any trick on the Lady Sailors on All Saints’ Day eve but simply showcased their terrific all-around game to dominate their rivals and complete a 66-minute romp that secured their place in the Final Four of the season-ending conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

Honey Royse Tubino and Jovelyn Gonzaga combined for 33 hits, including 23 kills, as the Lady Troopers produced 38 attack points, 14 more than the Lady Sailors. Gonzaga also foiled three of Navy’s attacks as the fancied team came through with eight blocks against their rivals’ one.

Army, runner-up to absentee Cagayan Valley here last year, also pummeled Navy’s token reception and came away with eight aces while holding their foes without an ace with their solid defense on the other end.

The lopsided win was third straight for Army, lining itself for a possible sweep with victories over struggling Coast Guard on Nov. 8 and against contender University of the Philippines on Nov. 11.

The loss dropped Navy to solo fourth at 2-2, allowing Coast Guard (1-3) and even winless Kia Forte (0-3) to stay in the semis race in the tournament presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by Mikasa and Accel.

Pau Soriano struggled for nine hits while Lilet Mabbayad groped for five points for Navy, which rebounded from an opening game loss to UP with back-to-back victories over Coast Guard and Kia Forte before bowing to the powerhouse Army side.

Earlier, Coast Guard fought back from 1-2 set with a sweep of the last two, including the decider as it eked out a thrilling 12-25, 25-22, 14-25, 25-23, 17-15 victory over newcomer Kia Forte to snap a three-game skid.

The Lady Dolphins lost in all scoring skills, 49-59 (spikes), 2-6 (blocks) and 4-7 (serve) but leaned on their experience in the last two frames to pound out the two-hour, nine-minute win.

PLDT Home Ultera also stopped UP’s two-game run with a 25-12,22-25, 25-15, 25-17 victory to tie its victim at second at 2-1 heading to another week-long break in the league organized by Sports Vision.