MANILA—Superior on all fronts, Philippine Army turned an expected dogfight into a mismatch as it crushed San Sebastian, 25-9, 25-20, 25-16, Sunday night to move within a victory of claiming the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 Open Conference title.
The Lady Troopers put up a virtual wall at the net in neutralizing the Lady Stags’ import Lauren Ford and gaining the head start in the best-of-three finals series at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Army can wrap up the crown on Thursday.
Ateneo can also capture the third place trophy on Thursday following its marathon 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 14-25, 15-8 win over Philippine Navy in Game 1 of their own series earlier.
Rachel Anne Daquis and Mary Jean Balse posted 14 and 13 points, respectively, to pace the Lady Troopers, who scuttled the Lady Stags with quick combination plays and stellar blocking.
Michelle Carolino pumped in 12 points for Army, which also got nine hits from Carolino’s younger sister, Marietta, who was named best attacker.
The one-sided victory, fashioned out in a little less than an hour, surprised even coach Rico de Guzman.
“We didn’t expect it to be this easy,” said De Guzman in Filipino. “I don’t know how they (San Sebastian) prepared for this match but they looked really tired out there today.”
Surprisingly lethargic, the Lady Stags managed just 24 attack points, their lowest for the tournament.
Jeng Bualee, San Sebastian’s long-time import still in search for her first V-League title, was the Lady Stags’ lone double-digit scorer with 13 points, which was still four points below her average.
Named Most Valuable Player of the conference before the game, Ford groped for form, ending up with just five points.
San Sebastian’s attack was so out-of-sync that even setter Rubie de Leon, the tournament’s best server awardee, turned out to be the second-best hitter with four points.
As far as De Guzman was concerned, San Sebastian’s poor showing was because of Army’s solid defense.
“We knew if we could block well and receive well we would have a chance,” said De Guzman. “We wanted to stop Bualee and Ford and we were able to do it.”
Ford also bagged the best scorer trophy, while Ateneo’s Dennise Lazaro and Jem Ferrer collected the best digger and best setter awards. Philippine Navy’s Suzanne Roces emerged best blocker, while Army libero Jennelyn Reyes was named best receiver.es