Lady Bulldogs, Falcons eye PVL title showdown

MANILA - Adamson University and National University brace for a big fightback from their Final Four rivals but remain upbeat of their chances for repeats in Game Two of the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan today.

Victories by the Lady Falcons and the Lady Bulldogs over the Far Eastern U Lady Tams and the Arellano Lady Chiefs at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively, will seal an exciting showdown between two unbeaten teams in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

Both matches can be viewed live via streaming on www.sports.abs-cbn.com/ livestream/pvl.

But while the powerhouse NU side appears to have all the tools and motivation to duplicate their emphatic 25-17, 25-16, 2523 triumph over Arellano in their best-of-three series opener last Wednesday, the Jema Galanza-less Adamson will be hard-pressed to match its come-frombehind 25-21, 22-25, 2520, 14-25, 8-15 victory over FEU.

“It’s unfortunate that Jema’s not here but she’s acting like one of my assistant coaches now. I’m excited about it – challenges. They don’t scare us. We’re ready,” said Adamson coach Airess Padda.

But the Lady Falcons will also have to buck the absence of Bernadette Flora and Chrislyn Uy, who are competing in the ongoing UAAP beach volley tournament along with FEU’s Bernadeth Pons and libero Kyla Atienza.

Despite the dominant Game One win, NU coach Babes Castillo remains wary of the reigning NCAA champions.

"Arellano is a thinking team. They don't move haphazardly. What I want is for us to dictate the pace of the match. Even if we switch positions and roles, I want them to respond quickly," said Castillo. PR