Fiery Army wrests title

Playing with urgency, Army capped an impressive campaign with a swift and merciless 25-14, 25-7, 25-23 victory over Cagayan Valley to wrest the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 crown yesterday at a jampacked Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Troopers left little to chance as they unleashed their power game in the first two sets before showing poise when the Lady Rising Suns threatened in the third frame.

Army hammered out the victory in just 69 minutes, completing a sweep of the best-of-three title series while dethroning Cagayan, which won the title last year via a 16-match sweep.

Jovelyn Gonzaga came up big in the third set, firing two kills to help the Lady Troopers overhaul a 21-23 deficit and give Army its second title in two months.

The left-handed Gonzaga, who finished with 13 points, was later named Most Valuable Player of the finals.

“I’m blessed to be part of this team, which is more like a family on and off the court,” said the 22-year-old Gonzaga. “We really worked hard for this win.”

The Lady Troopers shed tears of joy on the court before the awarding ceremonies. Army skipper Tina Salak said the tournament was one of the most challenging in her 17-year career with the Lady Troopers as it came at a time when the team played in two tournaments simultaneously.

“It was tough because we didn’t have a break in between tournaments, said Salak. “That’s why the win is so sweet.”

With Salak orchestrating the attack, the Lady Troopers dominated the first two sets and finished with 49 attack points from 114 attempts. But Army was equally formidable defensively as it scored 11 points off blocks with Rachel Ann Daquis and Nerissa Bautista combining for five.

The Lady Rising Suns got a glimmer of hope when Aiza Maizo scored on a crosscourt kill to put Cagayan on top, 23-21, in the third set. But Daquis scored off the block, before Gonzaga rammed home another kill to tie the match.

A Maizo error put the Lady Troopers at championship point, before Gonzaga finally sealed the win with another kill that sent the Army supporters into a frenzy.