Shakey’s V-League: Smart makes quick work of PNP

MANILA, Philippines — The nine-man Smart squad, bannered by some of the country’s best scorers, overpowered the Lady Patrollers  25-14, 25-15, 25-17 Friday in the 10th Shakey’s V-League Open conference.

Smart cruised to a huge lead over the Lady Patrollers as early as the first set, but ran into a bit of trouble early the ensuing set as it trailed 12-7.

“We struggled a bit on our reception,” said veteran Sue Roces in Filipino. “We just toughened it up and it clicked.”

Smart nailed PNP at 15 in the second set, then unleashed 12 unanswered points –with the power hitting Gretchel Soltones behind the attack — to double their set lead.

Roces made sure there were no letups in the third as she scored 21 points with five aces and a block while Soltones shared 13, all but two from kills.

Smart nabbed its second win, but Roces knows that talent, which is aplenty on her team, won’t always be enough.

“We don’t have a problem with offense and our skils. Our biggest adjustment should be our gelling and teamwork,” she also said.

The newcomer Lady Patrollers, though, have a lot more to work on as they dropped their second assignment in the tournament.

Frances Molina and Janine Marciano scored 13 and 10, respectively, to pace PNP.