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Wide open battle looms in 7th Shakey’s V-League

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:02:47 +0000

High-powered, action-packed volleyball action returns to the local sporting scene next month when the Shakey’s V-League unveils its seventh season in what promises to be a banner year for the sport that has generated so much interest and following the last few years.

With three Visayan teams joining to make it a 10-team cast and a novel format adopted to make the race to the championship doubly exciting, a wide open battle for the crown looms when the first conference of
the league’s seventh season is fired off on April 11 at The Arena in San Juan City.

It will not only be a clash of the finest and brightest teams from the UAAP and NCAA leagues but also from the Visayas with University of San Jose-Recoletos and Southwestern University from Cebu and Univ. of St. La
Salle-Bacolod raring to strut their wares against the fancied Big City teams.

In fact, SWU, winner of last year’s CESAFI women’s volley tournament,will be treated as a Metro Manila team, taking the spot vacated by University of the Phils., which decided to take a leave of absence to further shore up its roster in time for the second conference in July.

“What makes this conference exciting is that the Visayan teams will see action from the start unlike the previous years when they are seeded into the quarters, thus giving all the teams the chance to test their
mettle,” said Moying Martelino, chairman of the organizing Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. (SVMGI).

“This is going to be fun, exciting as we envisioned it to be.” University of Santo Tomas, which swept last year’s twin titles for a league-best five championships, will still be the team to beat in the upcoming conference sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and backed by Mikasa and Accel and telecast over NBN-4. But the rest have underwent tremendous buildup in the run-up to the tournament, ready to challenge the Tigresses for top honors.

Ateneo, for one, is itching to get going after an impressive third place finish in the recent UAAP tilt along with Adamson, Far Eastern U, perennial NCAA champion San Sebastian and Lyceum and St. Benilde, two teams which retained the core of their last year’s squad.

The SVMGI and Shakey’s launched the event in 2004 to revive women’s volleyball which had its glory days in the early 90s and at the same time give the sport the much-needed boost and provide a venue for these players where they could hone their talent and skills.

Under the format, the 10 teams will be divided into two groups and play a one-round robin elims with the top four squads from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. The Last 8 will again be grouped into two
and play a single round with the top two teams in each group clashing in a pair of crossover semis. Winners will then clash for the crown in another best-of-three affair.

Playdates are set on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 2 p.m. Games will be shown on a delayed
basis the following playdate on NBN 4 although matches can be viewed live on webcast at www.v-league.ph.

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Tigresses reign again, sweep Falcons

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:08:18 +0000

University of Santo Tomas battled back from an opening
set setback and survived a tough third set battle to repulse Adamson, 23-25,
25-12, 27-25, 25-19, last night and cap a successful season in the Shakey’s
V-League by winning the second conference crown before a thousand crowd at The
Arena in San Juan City.

The Tigresses only produced a couple of double-digit
outputs from skipper Aiza Maizo and rookie Maru Banaticla, who both had 16
hits, but they proved enough to foil the Lady Falcons’ bid to send the series
into a winner-take-all affair.

With their net defense and reception holding, the
Tigresses neutralized the Lady Falcons solid service, finishing with 15 blocks
to fashion out the victory in 1:41 and complete a sweep of their best-of-three
playoff.

“It was a total team effort. Even if we lost the
first set and were down in the fourth, I told them to stay focused and help
each other,” said UST coach Cesael delos Santos in Filipino.

Maizo also capped a superb outing this conference by
winning the MVP plum, closing out a banner season for the UST with five blocks.
She became the third UST player to win the MVP after Mary Jean Balse and Venus
Bernal.

“I didn’t expect to sweep both awards and help the
team win the crown,” said Maizo, who became the first player to bag both
the conference and finals MVP.

Other awardees were Adamson’s Angela Benting (best
scorer), St. Benilde’s Giza Yumang (best spiker), Adamson’s Pau Soriano (best
blocker), FEU’s Cherry Vivas (best server), FEU’s April Jose (best setter),
Adamson’s Lizlee Ann Gata (best receiver) and Ateneo-OraCare’s Stephanie
Gabriel (best digger).

Earlier, Far Eastern U recorded its best-ever finish in
the league, beating reigning five-time NCAA champion San Sebastian, 25-20,
10-25, 25-11, 21-25, 15-10, to sweep their separate best-of-three series for
third.

The Tigresses, who pulled off a 25-15, 19-25, 25-22,
25-21 victory in Game One, thus swept this year’s twin titles after nipping the
San Sebastian Lady Stags in sudden death for the first conference crown of the
league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza last June.

It was also UST’s fifth championship overall in eight
finals appearances, underscoring their domination of the country’s premier
women’s volley league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa, Accel,
Mighty Bond and OraCare.

The sweep of Season 6 titles also duplicated UST’s feat
in 2007 when it beat San Sebastian in two conferences to reign supreme in
Season 4.

Adamson, which scored 12 service points to UST’s four,
came into the match all geared up and pounded out a tough win in the opening
set behind Angela Benting solid spiking.

But the Tigresses put their act together in the second
set, thwarted the Falcons in the third before pouring it all in the fourth to
complete the victory.

Benting finished with 21 points while Jill Gustilo had
nine service points and wound up with 17 hits for the Falcons.

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Tigresses, Falcons begin title clash

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:00:47 +0000

University of Santo Tomas sets out as the slight favorite while Adamson tries to cap an impressive campaign as they clash in the opener of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 second conference finals today at The Arena in San Juan.

The Tigresses swept the Lady Falcons in their two faceoffs, fashioning out identical 3-1 victories in the elims and the quarters before dominating the FEU Lady Tams, 2-0, in the Final Four to advance to their eighth finals appearance in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Despite its setbacks to the first conference champion, Adamson proved it remained a worthy title contender, beating FEU and Ateneo-OraCare in the battle for No. 3 spot in the semis then swept reigning five-time NCAA champion San Sebastian to arrange a showdown for the crown with the most fancied team in the league.

Gametime is set at 4 p.m. after the 2 p.m. duel for third between SSC and FEU. Games can be viewed live on webcast on www.v-league.ph, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

UST coach Cesael delos Santos is expected to rely on his awesome threesome of Aiza Maizo, Angeli Tabaquero and rookie Maru Banaticla and on a gritty bunch of players ready to step up in offense and defense in pursuit of their fifth championship in the league backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare
The Falcons will surely come into the game fully adjusted to the Tigresses’ power game but they must also find ways to solve UST’s solid net defense which it flaunted in its victories over FEU.

Adamson is also expected to play with a lot of confidence following its romp over SSC with Angela Benting, the current scoring leader with a 16-hit norm and the second best server, tipped to lead the charge.

The Lady Falcons, seeking their second title after beating the Eagles for the first conference crown in 2008, also boasts of the league’s top blocker in Paulina Soriano, who also ranked second to St. Benilde’s Giza Yumang in spikes after the semis.

But with the two teams’ main players likely to neutralize themselves, the series could well be decided beyond spikes, quick plays or service but on floor defense or court coverage.

Adamson appears to be playing more cohesively in the last few games after a shaky campaign in the elims, thus producing superb set plays for their key hitters.

UST should use its talent to the hilt if it wants to seize control early and will have to rely on its experience in case the matches go to down-to-the-wire finishes.

That makes the championship worth watching.

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Tigresses roar to finals, sweep Lady Tams

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:00:12 +0000

University of Santo Tomas recovered from a second set setback and won the next two as it repeated over Far Eastern U, 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-17, to reach the finals of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 second conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Tigresses put up another superb net defense against the Lady Tams, coming up with 17 blocks behind rookie Maru Banaticla and Angeli Tabaquero while skipper Aiza Maizo joined the duo in delivering the hits to complete a 2-0 sweep of their best-of-three series.

UST thus made its eighth finals appearance, underscoring its domination in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza with the Tigresses, winner of four crowns, eyeing a sweep of the season’s titles after beating the San Sebastian Lady Stags for the first conference plum last June.

Banaticla, a gem of a find for UST, topscored with 19 points, including three blocks, while Tabaguero had five blocks and finished with 18 hits, the same output put in by Maizo.

“We’re happy to be back in the finals. They relaxed a bit in the second set because they knew they can beat them. But when the Tams took charge in the second set, they tried to fight back but failed,” said UST coach Cesael delos Santos in Filipino.

“But we have to stay focused in the finals if we want to win again,” said delos Santos, who also steered the team to a 25-20, 25-22, 25-20, victory in Game One.

The Tams pounced on the Tigresses in the second set with Rachel Daquis scoring back-to-back hits to even the match in the tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare.

But the Espana-based squad reasserted their might in the third, displaying the form they showed in topping the elims and the quarters with guest player Roxanne Pimentel coming through with running spikes to give UST a 21-8 lead.

The Tigresses then roared to a 19-12 advantage in the fourth set on a Maika Ortiz kill but the Tams countered with three straight hits, including two from top hitter Cherry Vivas, that closed the gap at 15-19.

But Vivas made an attacking error while Ortiz scored on another UST block to make it a 21-15 count en route
to the victory.

Daquis wound up with 18 hits for FEU, which also drew 12 points from Vivas and 11 from Monique Tiangco.

Tigressses, Lady Falcons seek title clash

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:07:41 +0000

University of Santo Tomas and Adamson try to arrange a first-ever showdown for the Shakey’s V-League crown as they go for repeat wins over Far Eastern U and San Sebastian, respectively, in Game Two of their Final Four duels at The Arena in San Juan today.

The Tigresses, seeking a sweep of Season 6’s twin titles, held off the Lady Tams, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20, in the opener of their best-of-three series last Tuesday and are expected to reassert their might to advance to their eighth finals appearance in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

The Lady Falcons, on the other hand, came through with a cliffhanger of a win over a fancied SSC side, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-11, 15-11, as they moved closer to a second championship stint since beating the Ateneo Lady Eagles for the 2008 First Conference crown.

UST and FEU mix it up in the 2 p.m. opener while Adamson and San Sebastian tangle at 4 p.m. Games can be viewed live on webcast on www.v-league.ph, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

But while UST and Adamson zero in on the finals, expect the Lady Tams and the Stags to go all out for victories to send the matches into a pair of winner-take-all affairs on Sunday.

To stop the Tigresses, Cherry Vivas and Shaira Gonzalez must step up and provide the needed firepower for the Lady Tams. The top-scoring FEU pair was limited to just nine and eight points in Game One after averaging 18 and 17 points, respectively, heading into the Final Four.

In fact, only Rachel Daquis managed to churn out a double-digit score of 14 points for FEU, which dished out impressive games in the elims to finish No. 2 but slowed down in the quarters and had to go through a playoff against Ateneo-Oracare to clinch the last semis slot.

UST remains formidable with the troika of Aiza Maizo, Angeli Tabaquero and rookie Maru Banaticla playing to their true potential and the rest backing them up with superb reception and court coverage to set up a number of quick plays. Tabaquero also displayed her defensive prowess as she combined with Maika Ortiz for eight blocks in the series’ opener.

San Sebastian, itching to get back at UST after losing the first conference crown in the league backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare, hopes to neutralize the power-hitting Angela Benting and Jill Gustilo, who unloaded a league record-tying 37 hits and a personal conference-high of 24 points, respectively, for Adamson in Game One.

The Lady Stags actually took a 2-1 lead after three sets but got clobbered by the charging Lady Falcons in the fourth then lost steam in the deciding frame to yield the match.

Joy Benito, Jinni Mondejar and Dafna Robinos did play solid offense in the first game but the Lady Stags just couldn’t hack it out in defense, enabling Benting and Gustilo to deliver the blows with their power off the net through Adamson’s excellent set plays.

Benting, now the league’s leading scorer with a 19-hit norm, will again lead Adamson’s charge together with Gustilo. Pau Soriano, who averaged 14 points for FEU heading into the semis, is also expected to join the attack after being relegated to the background with four points in the face of Benting and Gustilo’s awesome offensive games.

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Lady Falcons stun Stags, near finals

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:16 +0000

Adamson battled back from a 1-2 deficit to sweep the last two sets as it hacked out a 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-11, 15-11 victory over San Sebastian in the opener of their Final Four duel in the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

Angela Benting fired a league record-tying 37 hits while Jill Gustilo added a personal conference-high of 24 points as the Lady Falcons dominated the fourth set to draw level then sustained their form to clinch the match.

The rousing victory thus moved the third seeded Adamson to the threshold of a second finals appearance after the Lady Falcons beat the Ateneo Lady Eagles to capture their first-ever crown in the 2008 First Conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

The San Marcelino-based tossers gun for the clincher on Friday in Game Two of their best-of-three semis series.

“I can’t say a thing for Angela (Benting). She’s very confident and has been complementing well with our new setter in Des
(Patilano),” said Adamson coach Dulce Pante in Filipino.

San Sebastian’s net defense also failed to neutralize the power-hitting Benting, who combined with Gustilo in Adamson’s big fourth set fightback, 25-11.

Benting also flashed her defensive skills, coming through with a block off SSC’s Elaine Cruz that gave the Lady Falcons an 8-2 lead in the fifth set en route to the victory.

The Silay City native’s 37 points also equalled Thai import Lithawat Kesinee output for Ateneo in its four-set win over La Salle in the semis of the 2007 second conference of the league backed by Accel, Mikasa, Mighty Bond and OraCare.

The Lady Falcons, who took the first set but dropped the next two in close fashions, also bucked the injury to Pau Soriano, who sprained her ankle after colliding with Benting in the opening frame.

Joy Benito paced the second seed Lady Stags with 17 points while alumna Jinni Mondejar and rookie Dafna Robiños added 15 and 12 hits, respectively.

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Shakey’s V-League Final 4 unwraps

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:00:46 +0000

In a repeat of the first conference’s Final Four, University of Santo Tomas battles Far Eastern U and San Sebastian College collides with Adamson today in a pair of best-of-three matches ushering in the semifinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 second conference at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Tigresses and the Lady Stags trounced their respective rivals the last time out with the former bouncing from a Game One setback in the finals to sweep the last two and bag the first conference crown of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

They are again tipped to score a repeat and forge another title showdown but the Lady Tams and the Lady Falcons are raring to get back at their fancied rivals for a crack at the crown.

UST, who lorded it over the field again to claim the No. 1 spot, takes on FEU in the 4 p.m. main game with the Tams nipping the Ateneo-OraCare Lady Eagles in five sets in their playoff for the fourth and last semis spot in the league backed by Accel, Mikasa, Mighty Bond and OraCare.

San Sebastian, on the other hand, recovered from a rollercoaster campaign in the elims and the quarters to clinch the No. 2 seat and arrange another duel with the third seeded Lady Falcons. They square off at 2 p.m.

Winners will dispute the crown in another best-of-three affair.

Games can be viewed live on webcast on www.v-league.ph, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

The Tigresses, bannered by Aiza Maizo, Angeli Tabaquero, Maika Ortiz and rookie Maruja Banaticla, dominated the Tams with a pair of 3-1 victories in the elims and the quarters and are hoping to reassert their mastery over their Morayta-based rivals.

But FEU is out to stop UST’s domination on a team built around Cherry Vivas and Shaira Gonzalez, the league’s top scoring leaders, along with Rachel Daquis, Rose Cabanag and Monique Tiangco.

San Sebatian and Adamson split their two meetings this conference with the Lady Stags, bannered by Joy Benito, Margarita Pepito, Jinni Mondejar and Melissa Mirasol, scoring a 3-1 victory last Nov. 3 and the Falcons, behind Angela Benting, Paulina Soriano, Jill Gustilo and Charmaine Moralde, scoring a 3-0 rout last Nov. 8.

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Lady Tams repulse Eagles for last semis seat

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:00:09 +0000

Far Eastern U pounced on Ateneo-OraCare’s mediocre reception in the deciding set to pound out a thrilling 25-12, 22-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-9 victory last night in their sudden death for the fourth and last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 second conference at The Arena in San Juan.

Cherry Vivas, living up to her billing as the league’s leading scorer, came away with 25 hits to power the Lady Tams to a second straight Final Four appearance in the country’s premier women’s volley league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

“She has improved tremendously since the first conference,” said FEU coach Nes Pamilar of her prized hitter, who combined
with Monique Tiangco to give the Lady Tams a 10-3 lead in the fifth set en route to the victory.

The Lady Tams’ win also completed the same Final Four pairing as in the first conference with FEU, as the No. 4 team, taking on topnotcher UST and the second seeded San Sebastian battling No. 3 Adamson in a pair of best-of-three series
beginning tomorrow.

UST and SSC went on to dispute the first conference crown with the Tigresses dropping the first game before sweeping the next two.

“We also leaned on our solid service which they had a hard time neutralizing that’s why we were able to score with open
spikes,” said Pamilar.

Shaira Gonzales added 22 hits while guest player Rachel Daquis tossed in 20 points for FEU.

Fille Cainglet made 20 hits while Dzi Gervacio added 17 points for Ateneo, which missed the semis for the third straight conference.

It was a sorry setback for Ateneo, which showed a big fighting heart and endgame poise in defeating fancied UST in five sets in the final day of the quarters to force a playoff with FEU for the last semis seat in the tournament backed by Accel, Mikasa, Mighty Bond and OraCare.

The FEU-Ateneo match will be shown starting at 2 p.m. today on NBN-4, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

The Lady Eagles, who failed to wrap up the match after losing the fourth set, actually closed to within 9-11 in the deciding frame as Rose Cabanag made an attacking error but Gonzalez and Daquis scored on back-to-back hits against Gervacio.

A service ace by Cabanag and another kill by Daquis ended the closely fought match and carried the Lady Tams to the next round.

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FEU, Ateneo dispute last semis berth

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:00:08 +0000

4 p.m. – FEU vs Ateneo

Far Eastern U and Ateneo-OraCare clash today in an expected down-to-the-wire contest in a playoff for the fourth and last berth in the Final Four of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 second conference at The Arena in San Juan.

The two teams split their two meetings in the conference with the Lady Tams trouncing the Lady Eagles, 3-1, in the elims and the Loyola-based squad evening things up with a similar 3-1 victory at the start of the quarters.

But Ateneo appears to enjoy the momentum, hurdling fancied UST in five sets last Friday to force the sudden death for the fourth semis berth in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Three teams actually tied for third at 7-5 at the end of the quarters but Adamson clinched the third semis seat after UST and San Sebastian with a superior tiebreak score, leaving Ateneo and FEU to dispute the last Final Four slot.

But while Ateneo recovered in time, FEU is on a skid, losing four of their five games in the quarters after an impressive 6-1 campaign in the single round robin elims of the tournament backed by Mikasa, Accel, Mighty Bond and OraCare.
But records, momentum and the likes will hardly be factors in a sudden death with the Eagles and the Tams expected to pour it all out in a no-tomorrow contest.

One thing going for Ateneo is top hitter Charo Soriano is back after a two-week vacation in the US, scoring 13 hits to help the team nip UST. She is again expected to lead the Lady Eagles make-or-break bid along with top scorer Fille Cainglet, Angeline Gervacio, Denise Acevedo, Jamenea Ferrer, Bea Pascual and Gretchen Ho.

FEU will surely come up with key adjustments to check its skid with Cherry Vivas, the league’s current scoring leader, Rachel Daquis, Shaira Gonzalez, Rose Cabanag and Monique Tiangco spearheading the Lady Tams’ bid.

The match can be viewed live on webcast on www.v-league.ph with NBN-4 airing the game on a delayed basis starting at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Monday), according to the organizing Sports Vision.

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Adamson clinches No. 3; Ateneo forces playoff vs FEU

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:07:10 +0000

Adamson waylaid St. Benilde, 25-17, 25-15, 25-10, to clinch the No. 3 spot in the semifinal round while Ateneo subdued University of Santo Tomas, 25-11, 25-18, 17-25, 19-25, 15-11, to force a playoff with Far Eastern U for the last Final Four berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

The Lady Falcons actually tied the Tams and the Eagles for third at the close of the quarters with 7-5 slates but the San Marcelino-based squad took the No. 3 seat with a superior tiebreak score.

Ateneo and FEU dispute the last semis spot in a one-game playoff tomorrow.

The Lady Eagles, with alumna Charo Soriano back in harness, took control of the first two sets but the Tigresses, with skipper Aiza Maizo arriving, fought back to win the next two frames, setting the stage for the decider.

But Ateneo uncorked four straight points, including Dzi Gervacio’s block, to shatter an 11-all count and clinch the all-important win that kept the Lady Eagles’ semis bid alive.

“I told them to play extra hard if they still want to extend their season,” said Ateneo coach Clint Malazo.

Gervacio finished with a career-high 23 points while Fille Cainglet and Soriano added 17 and 13 hits for the Lady Eagles, who missed the semis in the first conference.

Angeli Tabaquero paced UST with 22 hits while rookie Maru Banaticla and Rhea Dimaculangan scored 11 hits apiece.

Skipper Angela Benting unloaded 21 kills and finished with 24 points while Paulina Soriano and Angelica Quinlog added 16 and 10 hits, respectively, for Adamson, which hopes to improve on its third place finish last conference.

Giza Yumang scored 11 hits but no other Blazer was able to churn out double-digit scores as they closed out their campaign with a 3-9 card.

Meanwhile, the Adamson-St. Benilde match will be aired on NBN-4 starting at 2 p.m. today, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

The Lady Falcons left nothing to chance and imposed their will and strength over the Blazers early to secure their stint in the Final Four.

Adamson outspiked St. Benilde, 48-19 and finished with 11 blocks against its rival’s six while putting up a supber court coverage throughout the one-hour encounter.

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