Cagayan turns back Ateneo in 5 sets

ATENEO’S Julia Morado soars to set the ball for her teammates while Cagayan Valley teammates Pau Soriano (left) and Angeli Tabaquero keep watch for a possible drop. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Dragged into a five-setter, Cagayan Valley responded with steely resolve to outlast a gritty Ateneo side, 16-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10, last night at the end of the elimination round of the Shakey’s V-League Season II Open Conference at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Drawing superb games from former UST stars Aiza Maizo and Angeli Tabaquero, the Rising Suns delivered a performance to remember while dealing the resilient Lady Eagles another five-set defeat.

The victory boosted Cagayan Valley to a tie for top spot with Army and PLDT Home Telpad at 6-1 heading into the quarterfinals.

But the defeat left the Lady Eagles with plenty of ground to make up for in the next round where records from the first round will be carried over.

The Lady Eagles produced one of their finest performances on attack with a 63-45 edge on spikes, but they were left undone by 44 errors which the Rising Suns fully exploited.

The loss once again opened up old wounds for the Lady Eagles who dropped a similar five-setter to Army last Sunday when they bungled two match points.

Maizo fired 17 hits, Pau Soriano and Rose Vargas scattered 12 spikes each and the hurting Tabaquero came through with 11 points as the Rising Suns completed the victory in an hour and 53 minutes.

The output was enough to offset another huge game from Alyssa Valdez who exploded for 30 points.

It was the Rising Suns who delivered the hits with Tabaquero sparkling in the fifth set.

The Lady Eagles couldn’t find an answer to Tabaquero who almost singlehandedly boosted the Lady Rising Suns to a 7-5 lead in the deciding set before Soriano came up with a couple of blocks to virtually shut the door on Ateneo.

Earlier, University of the Philippines smashed Philippine National Police, 25-23, 24-26, 25-12, 26-24, in a battle of winless teams.

Pauline Araneta and Katherine Bersola dished out 21-hit efforts even as Nicole Tiamzon tossed 20 points  for the Lady Maroons who finished seventh with a 1-6 slate.