UAAP: Lady Bulldogs hang on; Eagles near title

By: Jasmine W. Payo - 10 years ago

NATIONAL U’s Jaja Santiago delivers a kill against La Salle’s Christine Ogunsanya (No. 2) and Kim Fajardo.

MANILA, Philippines—A dominant National University forged a do-or-die semifinal duel in women’s volleyball even as Ateneo moved within a win of a historic first men’s championship in the UAAP Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Solid from the get-go, the Lady Bulldogs surprisingly whipped the second-seeded La Salle squad in straight sets, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19, to stay in the hunt for the last title berth.

“We’re happy but we can’t relax, there’s still a lot of work to do,” said NU coach Roger Gorayeb of the No. 3 Lady Bulldogs, who are bidding to overcome the twice-to-beat advantage of the Lady Spikers in the stepladder semifinals this Saturday.

In men’s action, Marck Espejo erupted for a season-best 31 points to power the Blue Eagles past the tenacious NU Bulldogs, 25-19, 30-28, 20-25, 25-22, in Game 1 of their best-of-three Finals series.

Espejo wrapped up the match by tallying four of Ateneo’s last five points. He also showcased his grit by firing crucial hits in the thrilling second set, where the Eagles outlasted the NU crew that fought off set point four times.

“He’s very consistent,” Ateneo coach Oliver Almadro said of Espejo, last season’s rookie MVP. “If he commits an error, he makes up for it right away. That’s the character of a true MVP. He didn’t give up defensively and offensively.”

The top-ranked Eagles will try to dethrone the two-time champion Bulldogs at 2 p.m. in Game 2 this Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“In the fourth set, the team was composed,” said Almadro after the Eagles survived the aggressive NU trio of Peter Torres, Jan Paglinawan and Edwin Tolentino. “Even if the match was tight, they already know what to do.”

Jaja Santiago and Myla Pablo fired 13 points each, but also drew a lot of support from the rest of the Lady Bulldogs, who overpowered the listless Lady Spikers at virtually all fronts.

The Lady Bulldogs—who survived a second straight knockout match after bundling out No. 4 Far Eastern University—aim to complete their upset of the Lady Spikers at 4 p.m. this Saturday where the winner will take on unbeaten Ateneo in the Finals.