TIP stuns Ateneo; FEU triumphs
AU jrs beat SBC Cubs
Games Tomorrow (Philsports Arena) 10 a.m. – Perpetual vs PMMS (S. Turf) 12 noon – Ateneo vs San Beda (S. Turf) 4 p.m. – San Beda vs UST (V-League) 6 p.m. – NU vs San Sebastian (V-League)
Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) made an auspicious start to its title bid as it pulled off a thrilling 26-24, 14-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-12 win over a short-handed Ateneo side in the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference last night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Without Alyssa Valdez who has already exhausted her playing years for Ateneo, the Lady Eagles struggled in the face of TIP’s superb game, thus absorbing one of their worst defeats in years.
The absence of Bea De Leon, and Jho Maraguinot due to various injuries hastened Ateneo's downfall.
But it was not an excuse as TIP tossers were in sync – thanks to their impressive opening set win.
Guest player Mylene Paat was a towering figure for the Boy Parilcoached TIP crew as she scattered 14 points built on 10 kills, two blocks and two aces, even as Eunice Mabayao contributed nine points.
The Lady Engineers exposed the Lady Eagles’ lack of depth with the two-time UAAP champion committing 52 errors.
Ponggay Gaston top scored in a losing effort for Ateneo with 17 points while skipper Michelle Morente had 16.
Also getting to a hot start was Far Eastern University.
Led by Bernadeth Pons, the Lady Tamaraws downed NCAA champion College of St. Benilde, 25-16, 25-16, 25-18.
Pons typified FEU’s offensive bril- liance as she hammered eight kills to finish with 11 points as FEU Coach Shaq delos Santos shuffled his wards with great success.
And that explained why the Lady Tamaraws needed just a little over an hour to wrap up the match.
Skipper Remy Palma also stepped up for the Lady Tamaraws as she scattered 10 hits including two aces, while Toni Rose Basas sealed the win with a thunderous spike to likewise contribute 10 markers.
“Intact naman kami except sa setter kasi wala na si Gyzelle Sy sa team,” said Delos Santos, adding that he used setters Angelica Cayuna and Kyle Negrito alternately in the match.
Despite having veteran guest players in Janine Navarro and Djanel Cheng, CSB struggled as it managed only 19 attacks out of 97 attempts.
The team’s anemic offense was best exemplified by team captain Jeanette Panaga’s inconsistent plays. She was held to only seven points.
Meantime, National University and University of Santo Tomas launched their respective title bids with similar straight-set victories in the Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Collegiate Conference.
The Bulldogs, last year’s runnerup, outplayed the FEU Tamaraws, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22, while the Growling Tigers downed the National College of Business and Arts (NCBA) Wildcats, 25-18, 25-20, 25-13.
Bryan Bagunas fired 12 points including two blocks and two service aces.
Games Thursday (The Arena, San Juan City) 10 a.m. – EAC vs CSB-LSGH (Jrs.) 12 noon – Mapua vs Perpetual (Jrs.)
Arellano University produced with a defensive gem at crunch time to beat defending champion San Beda College, 93-90, in a battle between unbeaten teams in the NCAA juniors basketball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan.
Down 90-88 with just 58 ticks left, the Braves unloaded four straight points on a three-point play from Guilmer Dela Torre and a split charity from Lars Sunga to grab the upper hand, 92-90, with 14 seconds remaining.
In the next play, Arellano’s Aaron Fermin blocked Sam Abu Hijle’s shot with Carlo Abadeza grabbing the rebound.
Abadeza was then fouled but managed only to split his charities, giving the Red Cubs another chance to send the game into overtime with a threepoint shot.
But San Beda’s Ed Velasquez missed his buzzer-beating attempt from near the midcourt.
It was Arellano’s eighth straight victory in as many games to gain the solo lead, while San Beda slipped to 7-1.
In the other game, Lyceum clobbered University of Perpetual Help, 117-93, to tie with its rival at 4-4 in the middle standings.