Meralco clinches semis berth

ABIGAIL Maraño guaranteed Meralco a strong finish as the Power Spikers tripped Coast Guard in straight sets, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20, to clinch the last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Open Conference Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Maraño pumped in 17 points, 14 off kills, to lead the Power Spikers’ solid attacking game on the way to sealing the No. 4 spot with a 4-3 record.

The Power Spikers closed out the eliminations with back-to-back victories to edge out Navy (3-4) for the last Final Four seat.

But the Power Spikers face a bigger task ahead in the round-robin Final Four starting tomorrow with unbeaten PLDT Home Ultera (7-0), Army (6-1) and Cagayan Valley (5-2) standing in their way.

The top two teams at the end of the round will advance to the best-of-three championship series.

Three men’s teams also got the job done in the Spikers’ Turf Season 1 Open Conference as PLDT Home Ultera, Cignal and Air Force pulled off separate victories to complete the Final Four cast.

The three squads, together with solo leader Cagayan Valley (6-1), will also square off in a single-round semifinals.

PLDT outlasted Instituto Estetico Manila, 25-23, 26-28, 25-18, 25-20, with Mark Gil Alfafara and Kheeno Franco leading the assault to help the Ultra Fast Hitters secure the No. 2 spot with a 5-2 slate.

Alfafara and Franco combined for 27 points.

“Our bench players were really huge in this game, they helped the team a lot,” said PLDT coach Odjie Mamon.

Cignal disposed of Champion Infinity, 25-22, 25-16, 25-21, while Air Force turned back Fourbees-Cavite in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18, 25-20, to forge a four-way tie at 4-3.

But the winners claimed the last two slots due to their superior tiebreak points.