Ateneo stuns La Salle in finals rematch

Games Today (MOA Arena) 8 a.m. – UE vs Adamson (men’s) 10 a.m. – UP vs NU (men’s) 2 p.m. – UE vs Adamson (women’s) 4 p.m. – UP vs NU (women’s)

Ateneo exacted sweet revenge on defending champion La Salle behind a pair of stunning comebacks to score a 26-24, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17 victory last night for the solo lead in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the jampacked Mall of Asia Arena.

The Lady Eagles made their archrivals pay for their miscues, bouncing back from a 23-19 deficit in the first set and 23-20 in the second which they use as stepping stones in winning the heartstopping match witnessed by 17,132 energetic fans.

Michelle Morente waxed hot with 25 points built on 20 spikes, three blocks and two aces, while Kat Tolentino scored 18 points highlighted by 16 kills for Ateneo, which improved to 6-1 after hiking its winning run to five games.

Jia Morado also played a vital role for the Lady Eagles of Thai mentor Tai Bundit with 79 excellent sets.

“Hindi lang talaga namin binitawan lalo na yung first two sets. Binalikan namin yung basics, kasi ‘yun na talaga yung labanan ngayon eh,” said Bundit’s assistant coach Sherwin Meneses.

La Salle dropped to second place with a 5-2 record, its three-game winning run snapped. The Lady Spikers, mentored by Ramil de Jesus, will have plenty to reflect on after committing 31 errors in the one-hour and 53-minute match – the first since La Salle defeated Ateneo in last year’s finals.

Kim Dy and Majoy Baron scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, even as Aduke Ogunsanya had 12 points and Kim Fajardo registered 10 for La Salle.

Earlier, University of Santo Tomas recovered from a second set hiccup and downed Far Eastern University, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20, to end the first round tied with its victim at 4-3.