UP stays in semis race, ousts Iriga

UP Lady Maroons during their game against Bali Pure on Monday, June 13, 2016 at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan. The Lady Maroons lost to the Water Defenders in five sets. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

University of the Philippines redeemed itself from a heartbreaking loss with a straight-sets win over Iriga City, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19, to keep its semifinal bid going in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference Monday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Diana Carlos led the Lady Maroons, who are coming off a five-set loss to BaliPure last week in a game where they blew a 2-1 set lead, with 13 points.

“They enjoyed playing the game and we executed well,” said UP head coach Jerry Yee in Filipino.

UP upped its mark to 2-3 while Iriga fell out of contention after suffering its third straight loss and its fifth overall in six outings.

Kathy Bersola added nine points for UP. The Lady Maroons need to sweep their final two games against Laoag and National University to advance to the Final Four.

Pocari Sweat, the lone unbeaten team in the league, already secured the first semifinals seat while Air Force and BaliPure have assured themselves a playoff for a seat with similar 4-1 slates.