Lady Bulldogs, Eagles begin V-L title clash

National U hopes to use its edge in manpower and experience while Ateneo will lean on its big fighting heart and hustle as they open their best-of-three series for the Shakey’s V- League Season 13 Collegiate Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig tonight.

With a talented core of Jaja Santiago, Jorelle Singh, Aiko Urdas, rising star Jasmine Nabor and rookie Fil-Japanese sensation Risa Sato, the Lady Bulldogs set out for their 6 p.m. clash the slight favorites with assistant coach Edjet Mabbayad expected to exploit their edge against an overachieving Ateneo side.

The Lady Eagles did deal the Lady Bulldogs’ a lone setback in the group stages, a 25- 15, 27- 25, 25-17 shocker that kept the former in the quarters race, which they also hurdled then stunned the San Sebastian Lady Stags in another KO match to barge into the semis of the mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

Ateneo capped its amazing run with a 2-0 sweep of the top seeded Far Eastern U side in the Final Four to earn a chance for a payback against NU, which swept them in the decider in last year’s finals of the tournament.

“It was a learning experience for us,” said Mabbayad, referring to their setback to the Lady Eagles.

The tournament is backed by Mikasa as official ball and Accel as official outfitter.