LEADERS Cagayan Province and Army clash against separate rivals in a possible preview of the semifinal pairings of the Shakey’s V-League Season 10 Open Conference at Filoil Flying V Arena.
The Lady Rising Suns take on a resurgent Smart Maynilad squad at 4 p.m., after No. 2 Army battles dangerous Air Force.
Unbeaten in nine games, the Lady Rising Suns have a tougher task against the Net Spikers, who fielded a depleted lineup and lost in straight sets in their elimination round meeting with Cagayan.
The Net Spikers, on a two-game roll, now have a couple of solid attackers in the squad in Alyssa Valdez and Pheenook Kesinee. Valdez, an Ateneo standout, has been in blistering form for Smart with a 27-point performance in the victory over Philippine National Police last Friday.
Cagayan, however, still boasts the deepest and most talented squad in the tournament with national players Aiza Maizo an Angeli Tabaquero joining forces with Thai reinforcements Phomia Soraya and Kannika Thipachot.
Wenneth Eulalio and Pau Soriano have also proven to be solid contributors on both ends for the Lady Rising Suns, who barely survived Meralco in five sets last Friday.
Sporting an 8-1 record, the Army Women hope to continue their push for the top seeding, while the Air Women seek to keep the No. 4 position. Cedelf P. Tupas