Army, San Sebastian tossers dispute solo lead

MANILA—San Sebastian and Army collide Thursday in a duel that could eventually determine the top semifinalists of the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 Open Conference at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Sporting identical 3-0 records in the quarterfinals, the Lady Stags and the Lady Troopers take the floor at 4 p.m. in a rematch of their pulsating five-set duel won by San Sebastian two weeks ago.

Navy and Ateneo meet in the first game at 2 p.m. with both teams looking to boost their Final Four chances.

The Lady Eagles will go into the game with just a day’s rest after pushing the Stags to the limit before yielding last Tuesday.

But the Lady Eagles can draw positives from the game since it showed their tremendous resolve in rallying from two sets down.

Navy will continue to miss the injured Michelle Laborte, its lead blocker.

Army is coming off an emphatic 25-14, 25-19, 25-22 win over Air Force last Sunday. But the Lady Troopers can’t expect a similarly easy encounter against the Lady Stags.

San Sebastian boasts of Lauren Ford, the 6-foot-2 American import, who is turning out to be one of the most dominant players the league has seen in years.