Adamson edges NU in 5-set thriller

MANILA, Philippines -- The Adamson University Lady Falcons survived an inspired game from the National University Lady Bulldogs to win in five hard-fought sets, 18-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-10, 15-9, Wednesday afternoon at The Arena in San Juan.

May Macatuno (14) and Pau Soriano (2) of Adamson University defend against Myla Pablo of National University.

The Lady Falcons were coming off a straight sets loss to the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws, and were seemingly shocked by the intensity of the Lady Bulldogs.

NU was sharper on the defensive end, and they were able to handle the attacks of Adamson aces Pau Soriano and Sheila Pineda.

Adamson, on the other hand, showed uncharacteristic poor floor defense, as NU's Cai Nepomuceno consistently found ways to attack.

The Lady Falcons turned their game around in the 2nd set, with Soriano and Pineda more effective on offense.

But rookie Myla Pablo came alive in the 3rd set to lead the Lady Bulldogs, giving them a pivotal 2-1 lead in the match.

Facing a 1-set deficit, the Lady Falcons stepped up their intensity in the fourth and fifth sets, winning them comfortably, 25-10 and 15-9, to improve their record to 4-2.

Adamson is now tied with the University of Santo Tomas for 3rd place in the league standings.

The Lady Falcons' long-time head coach, Dulce Pante, was clearly frustrated with her wards' struggles during the game, but is confident that they can still bounce back.

"Mahaba pa naman ang liga. Magte-training pa rin kami during the break, except Christmas and New Year," she said.

Pineda finished with 20 points, including 3 service aces and 19 digs, while Soriano had 17 hits and four blocks.

Nepomuceno finished with 21 hits and 2 blocks, while Pablo ended up with 20.

It was the Lady Bulldogs' 5th loss in a row after winning their season opener against the University of the Philippines. They dropped to a share of the 6th and 7th slots with the University of the East.

source abs-cbnNEWS.com

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Perpetual men’s, women’s teams trip Letran spikers

University of Perpetual Help crushed its foes in the men’s and women’s division, fanning its championship bid in the volleyball competitions of the 87th NCAA volleyball tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Altas, the defending men’s titlist, dismissed the listless Letran Knights with a quick, merciless 25-16, 25-13, 25-23 victory and nailed their fourth straight win and moved them to solo second place behind the pace-setting Arellano U.

The idle Chiefs sit alone on top with a 6-0 (win-loss) card.

More importantly, the Las Piñas-based team clinched the second Final Four slot and is slowly putting itself in prime position to successfully defend the championship it won with an impressive run last year.

“We’re slowly but surely getting to a position where we want to, which is to win the championship again this season,” said Perpetual coach Sammy Acaylar in Filipino.

The Lady Altas, for their part, made the Final Four as early as last week but showed everyone they’re not relenting as they turned back the feisty Lady Knights with a gripping 24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22 triumph.

It was the Mike Rafael-coached Lady Altas’ seventh win in row. Perpetual continued to pull away in the women’s division, gaining momentum going into the semifinals.

And Rafael isn’t letting the holiday season to get into their training regimen.

“If we want to continue to play like this, we have to stay in shape so we will continue training except for Christmas Day, Dec. 26 and New Year’s Day,” said Rafael.

Perpetual is looking to at least send all its volleyball teams—men’s, women’s and juniors—to the finals and gun for a rare sweep in the sport.

It can be recalled that Perpetual also sent all its beach volley teams in the first semester to the finale but only the Lady Altas emerged with a championship.

“We’re proud of our players, we will always be there to support and cheer them,” said league president and NCAA policy board chair Anthony Tamayo.

source Philippine Daily Inquirer

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DLSU wallops UE in UAAP volleyball

Abigail Maraño led defending champion De La Salle University (DLSU) for a 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 victory over University of the East (UE) in the UAAP women’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan.

The leading attacker in the league, Maraño had 11 spikes and was responsible for 3 of 9 blocks. She eventually finished the game with 15 points.

The victory propelled the Lady Spikers to within a win of sweeping the 7-game first-round eliminations.

“Abi (Maraño) stepped up and I am happy with that. My expectations from her are really that high,” said DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus.

Far Eastern University (FEU) played without ace scorer Maica Morada but still managed to post a 25-22, 25-23, 25-17 victory over Adamson University (AdU) in the other game.

“She (Morada) did not practice for one week. She’s a big factor for the team, but we need to discipline her. We poured it all even without her,” said Lady Tamaraws coach Nes Pamilar.

The loss snapped Adamson’s 3-game streak, while FEU cut its own 2-game skid that tied the Lady Tamaraws with University of Santo Tomas (UST) and their victims at No. 3 in the team standings.

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Lady Archers notch No. 5 vs UP tossers

MANILA, Philippines - De La Salle streaked to its fifth straight victory while sending University of the Philippines (UP) to its fifth consecutive loss, 25-16, 25-17, 25-22, yesterday in UAAP Season 74 women’s volleyball at the Arena in San Juan.

Team captain Cha Cruz played an all-around game for the unbeaten defending champions, registering a personal season-high 19 points laced with seven aces and had six digs. Abigail Maraño complimented Cruz’s strong performance with 14 points, 12 on attacks.

University of Santo Tomas scored a 25-18, 25-19, 25-18 victory over University of the East (UE) in yesterday’s other women’s match. Maru Banaticla had 16 points for the Tigresses who, after a 0-2 start, have won three straight so far.

“We improve on our service and reception,” said UST coach Odjie Mamon.

Despite facing a lightweight UP side, De La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus said his wards still were below 100 percent because of their academic load.

Angeli Araneta and Jessa Lasmarias each had 10 points for the Lady Maroons, who have yet to show chemistry this season.

The Tigresses drew 13 points from Maika Ortiz and nine hits from rookie Carmela Tunay in disposing of the Lady Warriors, who were led by Jimberly Dawn Dizon’s 10 points.

UE dropped to a 1-4 record to stay ahead of UP in the standings.

In the men’s contest, Arvin Avila scattered 14 points to power Far Eastern University past UE, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, to also remain unbeaten in five games.

Mark Gil Alfafara, meanwhile, had 20 hits to lead five other UST players in double figures as the reigning champion Growling Tigers frustrated an upset hungry National University crew, 27-29, 25-13, 25-22, 17-25, 15-12.

The victory was UST’s fourth in five outings.

source by The Philippine Star

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Lady Archers hope to remain spotless against cellar-dwelling Lady Maroons

Pacesetting and reigning women's titlist La Salle takes on cellar-dwelling University of the Philippines on Wednesday with the Lady Archers aiming to extend their winning run to five in the 74th UAAP volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Game time is 2 p.m. with the Lady Maroons also hoping to snap a four-game slump this season.

Camille Cruz is a doubtful starter after the La Salle rookie hurt her knee after a bad fall in the third set in the Lady Archers’ game against the FEU Lady Tamaraws.

But La Salle still has lethal attacker Abigail Maraño, top blocker Michelle Gumabao, setter Mika Esparanza and the reliable Cha Cruz in its vast arsenal. Mika Reyes and Ara Galang are also ready to contribute to the Lady Archers’ cause.

"We must not be complacent in our game. We need to be prepared every time we play because you can't predict the outcome of the game. I just told my players to stay focused and as much as possible minimize our errors," said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus.

The Lady Archers are coming off a marathon five-set win over FEU, 25-22, 25-15, 23-25, 23-25, 15-11.

UST, last year's losing finalists, will also try to clinch a third straight win when it takes on University of the East (UE) at 4 p.m.

Men's action pits UST against National University at 9 a.m. and Far Eastern University (FEU) against UE at 10:30 a.m. —

source JVP, GMA News

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Lady Falcons nab 3rd straight in UAAP women's volleyball

MANILA, Philippines – Adamson University (AdU) handily defeated University of the East (UE), 25-18, 25-14, 25-17, for its 3rd straight win after a season-opening loss in UAAP Season 74 women’s volleyball on Saturday at the Arena in San Juan.

Shiela Pineda scored 13 hits, including 3 service aces, while Angelica Quinlog added 11 points on blocks to go with her 7 digs for the Lady Falcons.

With the match virtually in the bag, Adamson’s long-time coach Dulce Pante rested her starters in favor of her second stringers, who kept the Lady Warriors at bay.

“The girls have put to good use our training program. Now, they have polished their timing, like playing the piano. If the blending is right, you get wonderful music,” said Pante.

Sheisa Nebrida had 8 hits and Jimberly Dawn Dizon scored 7 kills for the Lady Warriors, who dropped to their 3rd loss in 3 outings.

Meanwhile, reigning 5-time champion University of Santo Tomas (UST) relied on the 15 hits each from Jay Depante and Mark Gil Alfafara in beating Ateneo, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18, in the men’s category.

UST remained at 3rd place with a 3-1 card.

Sam Paquiz made 20 hits for University of the Philippines (UP) which beat UE, 25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 28-26, for the Maroons’ 2nd win in 4 matches on Saturday’s other men’s game.

source | abs-cbnNEWS.com

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UAAP fencing kicks off on Friday

Source | abs-cbnNEWS.com | MANILA, Philippines – Fencing action in UAAP Season 74 will get going at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday, with competitions in boys’ and girls’ individual epee, foil and saber, as well as the team events kicking off.

The fencing competitions will run until Monday.

On Day 2 (Saturday), it will be in the boys’ and girls’ individual and team foil, epee and sabre, and women’s sabre.

The University of the Philippines (UP) is the defending champion in the men’s division, while the University of the East (UE) is the reigning titlist in the women’s and juniors categories.

UE has the most fencing championships in the UAAP with 7 in the men’s, 5 in the women’s and 1 in juniors.

UP has won the women’s crown 5 times, Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) was women’s champion in 2006, while University of Santo Tomas (UST) was back-to-back men’s champion in 2007 and 2008.

Far Eastern University (FEU) has won the men’s crown in 2004.

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