MAD SCRAMBLE STARTS
National University can breathe a little better now after practically sealing No. 1 spot in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament and taking the first twice-to-beat privilege that goes with it.
The others who will join the Lady Bulldogs there will still have some scrambling to do heading into the homestretch of the elimination round.
With Alyssa Solomon returning and the others firing on all cylinders, the Bulldogs destroyed Ateneo, 25-15, 25-15, 25-21, on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, where University of the Philippines (UP) upset La Salle to muddle up the race for the last three spots and the No. 2 ranking that carries that big bonus.
A 26-24, 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 16-14 win by the Fighting Maroons in the second game fanned UP’s hopes of advancing after it rose to 6-6, while dropping La Salle into a second-place tie with idle University of Santo Tomas (UST) at 8-4, to set up a wild finish to the classification phase.
With an 11-2 record, the Bulldogs seem to be out of reach for the rest of the field, even if they lose to the Growling Tigresses at the end of their elimination round schedule on April 27.
“We won’t stop just because we got the [incentive],” reigning MVP Bella Belen said after pouring in 16 points. “I think we can still work on [our lapses] so for our game against UST, we will be sharper.”
The most interesting aspect of the tournament, though, will come before that, as UP closes out against Santo Tomas and then Far Eastern University, needing to win both to even think of forging a playoff for the last final four slot.
La Salle, meanwhile, will have to deal with Adamson and super rookie Shaina Nitura before colliding with the Lady Tams in a four-day span starting on April 23, when the league resumes after the Holy Week break.
The Maroons have been out of the Final Four for the last six seasons, and Joan Monares, rookie standout Kianne Olango and American middle blocker Kassandra Doering were responsible for keeping them alive.
“I am just grateful that my teammates are giving me the trust, that’s a big confidence boost for me,” Monares, after finishing with 16 points, said.
Doering had 15 points and Olango 14, with both combining for 22 attack points.
Needed break
National will also have the longest break than any team, two weeks to be exact, and coach Sherwin Meneses said that it’s just what his team needs.
“I think it’s good to have the long break before [battling the Tigresses] and [playing] the semifinals,” said Meneses, who is still licking the wounds from Petro Gazz’s toppling of his Creamline in the PVL on Saturday night.
“We could prepare longer and it’ll give time for our minor injuries to heal, so we’ll be ready for the semifinals,” he added.
Solomon, after missing two games because of a left ankle sprain, chipped in 12 points, all but one coming from attacks, with Erin Pangilinan adding 11 points. Lams Lamina finished with 17 excellent sets in orchestrating the Bulldogs’ offense as National bounced back from a shock loss to Nitura and the Falcons.
“We were shaken from [the loss to the Lady Falcons] and I noticed that the pressure was on us, so we were not able to turn it around that time [but] after that, we moved forward and went back to work,” Solomon said.
