MANILA—Ateneo tries to summon its dominant form again when it battles struggling Air Force Sunday in the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 Open Conference at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Eagles gun for their third win in the 4 p.m. match against Air Force, which has dropped its first two matches despite the presence of highly touted guest player Aiza Maizo in its lineup.
In-form and cohesive, the Lady Eagles, who captured the First Conference crown, racked up easy victories over Maynilad and Perpetual Help to start the eight-team tournament.
San Sebastian, still in search of its best form, tries to bounce back against Perpetual Help in the first game at 2 p.m.
The Lady Stags have tapped Thai import Jeng Bualee and American Lauren Ford for the tournament, but the duo could do little as San Sebastian bowed to a more cohesive Navy squad in straight sets last Thursday.
What the Lady Eagles lack in experience compared to the other squads in the league, they make up for their remarkable teamwork.
Alyssa Valdez, Fille Cainglet and Angeline Gervacio form one of the finest attacking trios, while a maturing Jem Ferrer has directed the offense with her steady sets.
Cainglet is averaging 16 points in the first two games, good for fourth in the scoring charts currently being led by national team standout Michelle Carolino of Army, who has a 19 ppg norm.
Maizo has been the lone bright spot for Air Force, which has been struggling to get contributions from other players in its starting six. Apart from Maizo, only Cherry Macatangay finished in double-figures with 10 points in the three-set loss to Army last Thursday.
Bualee was surprisingly held to just eight points in SSC’s loss to Navy while the 6-foot-2 Ford, still trying to feel her way into the system of coach Roger Gorayeb, finished with 17 hits.
The Lady Altas are no pushovers themselves, as they gave Maynilad all that it could handle before finally yielding in five sets.
Against San Sebastian, Perpetual will be looking to squeeze the best out of its Thai imports Lasungnern Piyatada and Wirawan Sattayanuchit, who finished with 18 hits in the marathon 25-21, 25-12, 16-25, 24-26, 28-30 loss to the Water Dragons.