UAAP women’s volleyball Final Four begins April 22
FOLLOWING two months of elimination play, University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball tournament action takes a two-week break before plunging into the playoff round beginning April 22.
From a full complement of eight competing teams, the field has been sliced into half, all of whom are bent on seeing their respective causes for Season 79 through.
Finishing on top of the standings at the end of the two- round classification phase are the Ateneo Lady Eagles ( 12- 2), followed by the defending champions De La Salle Lady Spikers ( 11- 3), University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses (95) and Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws (8-6).
Ateneo takes on FEU in the Final Four while La Salle battles UST in the other semifinal pairing. For finishing one and two in the elimination round, both the Lady Eagles and Lady Spikers carry twice- to- beat advantages over their respective foes in the semifinals.
The Lady Eagles secured the top spot after beating rivals Lady Spikers in a virtual decider on the final play date of the eliminations in four sets, 12- 25, 25- 20, 25- 21 and 25- 19, last Saturday.
Despite playing sans key cog Jhoana Maraguinot, who was rested for a second consecutive game, Ateneo still found a way to pull off the key win with the bench rising to the occasion.
Rookie Jules Samonte came through to score 10 points off the bench to help her team buck a slow start en route to the victory.
Michelle Morente and Bea De Leon each scored 14 points for Ateneo as they edged La Salle for the top spot.
“The team played well even without Jho (Maraguinot). Jules successfully filled up Jho’s position which greatly helped us as far as our rotation during the game,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sherwin Meneses after their victory.
The Lady Eagles are now preparing for their semifinal matchup with FEU on April 23 at 4 p. m. at the Mall of Asia Arena. They defeated the Lady Tamaraws twice in the elimination round but not after being stretched to five sets each time.
HARD WORK PAID OFF
Meanwhile, notwithstanding having to meet La Salle in the Final Four, UST is proud to return to the semifinal round after missing it in the previous four seasons.
The Tigresses claimed the third spot and avoided complications of having to go through a playoff to enter the Final Four by coming from behind to oust the National University Lady Bulldogs in five sets, 20- 25, 1925, 25-22, 25-21 and 15-12, also last Saturday.
Skipper Sisi Rondina and EJ Laure stepped up for UST, firing 22 points apiece to guide the Tigresses back to the semifinals.
The Final Four appearance is a turnaround for UST after starting the season with a 1- 3 record.
“We just stayed the course and worked hard throughout the match and luckily we were able to claim the victory that we were seeking,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes of their win over NU.
“We have achieved our goal to make it to the Final Four. But we are not stopping her and training our sights to go as deep as possible in the tournament,” Rondina, for her part, said.
La Salle has had the number UST so far this season, beating the latter two times already.
The La Salle- UST set-to is to start on April 22 at 4 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
If necessary, Game Two of the Final Four for both pairings will be on April 26, Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena. —