Army seizes third Shakey’s V-L win
JOVELYN Gonzaga sustained her blistering form to propel Philippine Army past Philippine National Police, 25-14, 25-15, 25-15, yesterday for its third straight win in the Shakey’s V-League Season 10 Open Conference.
Not even the entry of Thai import Sangmuang Patcharee for the PNP squad could stop Gonzaga from wreaking havoc on the Lady Patrolers’ defense as the Iloilo City spiker fired 21 hits, including 15 kills, at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Gonzaga, a standout from Central Philippine University, also finished with five blocks and a service ace as the Armywomen followed up their one-sided victories over Air Force and Navy with another dominant performance.
“I’m still new in the team but I’m happy I’m helping them,” said Gonzaga, who also topscored in the win against Air Force with 12 points.
Army coach Rico de Guzman was all praises for his prized recruit.
“We know that she really plays well on both offense and defense, it’s a matter of teaching her where to hit it and where to block it,” said De Guzman whose squad moved half a game behind leader Cagayan Valley with a 4-0 card.
Hoping to inject more life to its attack, PNP tapped Patcharee, who came away with a team-high 12 points. It still wasn’t enough as Janine Marciano and Frances Molina combined for 17 hits.
In contrast, the Armywomen got contributions from almost everyone on their roster with former league MVPs MJ Balse adding 10, Michelle Carolino chipping in 7 and Nerissa Bautista and Dahlia Cruz tossing in six hits apiece.
The victory was a warmup for Army’s highly anticipated clash with Cagayan on Sunday.
It was PNP’s third straight loss. It dropped a 17-25, 25-17, 25-21, 15-25, 9-15 decision to Meralco in the league opener last Aug. 18 and then bowed to Smart, 14-25, 15-25, 17-25, on Aug. 23.
The Armywomen tallied 44 points off attacks and scored seven each off blocks and service aces in the match that lasted just 65 minutes.
In the second game, Meralco capped a day of routs as the Power Spikers got back on the winning track by routing Philippine Navy, 25-21, 25-22, 25-16.
Coco Wang and Fille Cainglet unleashed 18 and 13 hits, respectively, for the Power Spikers who improved to 3-2 and moved within a victory of clinching a place in the quarterfinals.
The Lady Sailors again struggled to get their attack going, managing just 29 points off kills, and yielded after an hour and 18 minutes. It was the third straight loss of Navy, which fell to a share of sixth spot with PNP and FEU.
