Adamson nears crown

Being able to withstand the pressure and not giving up served them well

Toughened by a couple of nerve-wracking five-setters against College of Saint Benilde in the Final Four, Adamson University played with grit and poise against fancied University of Santo Tomas, hacking out a 23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 15-11 decision to zero in on the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference crown late Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Trisha Genesis flashed top form again and scored 21 points with the rising sophomore star drawing solid backup from rookies Lucille Almonte, Lorene Toring and setter Louie Romero to hammer out the victory at the start of their best-of-three title series.

“We learned so much from our semis series with Saint Benilde,” said Adamson coach Lerma Giron, whose wards battled Saint Benilde in two five-setters, which they split before the Lady Blazers won their sudden death in four sets.

“Being able to withstand the pressure and not giving up served them well. It’s tough, but it’s good for their character.”

They showed it against the Tigresses, who came into the title series brimming with confidence after disposing of the reigning University Association of the Philippines champion Ateneo de Manila University in their side of the semis, which also went the distance.

Almonte finished with 15 points, including the last three points of Adamson while Toring dominated the net with seven kill blocks and scored 15 points. Romero stayed consistent with her playmaking as she tallied 33 excellent sets.

The Lady Falcons gun for the clincher tomorrow.

But coming into Game 2, the Lady Falcons vowed to raise their game in anticipation of the Tigresses’ strong fightback as they seek their first championship since ruling the defunct V-League’s Season 7 second conference in 2010.

Genesis added 16 digs and 20 excellent receptions for another superb performance after anchoring the team’s come-from-behind win against the Lady Blazers.