La Salle stays perfect, downs UE

Photo by Ryan Ong

MANILA, Philippines—Abigail Maraño stepped up for defending champion De La Salle, scoring 15 points to cap an all-around performance as the Lady Archers blasted the University of the East Lady Warriors, 25-18, 25-14, 25-18, Saturday in UAAP women’s volleyball at the Arena in San Juan.

The leading attacker in the league, Maraño had 11 spikes and was responsible for three of nine blocks to propel De La Salle to within a win of sweeping the first round of eliminations.

“Abi (Maraño) stepped up and I am happy with that. My expectations from her are really that high,” said Lady Archers coach Ramil de Jesus.

Far Eastern University (FEU) benched ace scorer Maica Morada but still managed to post a 25-22, 25-23, 25-17 victory over Adamson University in the other game to force a three-way tie for third place.

“She (Morada) did not practice for one week. She’s a big factor for the team, but we need to discipline her. We poured it all even without her,” said Lady Tamaraws coach Nes Pamilar.

FEU snapped Adamson’s three-game win streak while forging a tie with University of Santo Tomas and its victim at 3-2 behind solo second-placer Ateneo (3-1).

In the men’s division, Jayson Ramos and Jay Depante combined for 30 points as reigning four-time champion UST (5-1) clobbered UE (0-6), 25-11, 25-13, 25-21.

Sam Paquiz scattered 16 hits and Jeffrey Lasangan contributed 15 as University of the Philippines (3-2) nipped Ateneo, (1-4), 14-25, 28-26, 25-20, 25-21, in the other men’s contest.

With rookie Camille Cruz out for the rest of the season because of an ACL injury she sustained last week, Ara Galang also stepped up with 12 points for De La Salle, which also drew nine hits each from reliable Michelle Gumabao and Cha Cruz.

After a two-week Christmas break, the Lady Archers shoot for a sweep against the Tigresses in a rematch of the Season 73 finals on Jan. 8.