Eli Soyud of Adamson rises for a kill against the Perpetual duo of Jenny Gaviola and Jhona Rosal. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Playing what their coach described as a “sloppy game,” Adamson still proved a lot better than Perpetual Saturday at the start of the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference at Filoil Flying V Centre.
Losing key players to graduation, the Lady Falcons found new leaders in Eli Soyud and Chiara Permentilla in a 25-19, 25-18, 25-16 victory to jumpstart their campaign in the meet serving as a preseason test for schools competing in the collegiate leagues.
“You could definitely tell that it’s our first game,” said Adamson coach Airess Padda. “And it was sloppy in my opinion.”
The victory allowed Adamson to take the first step in a scramble for the title after powerhouse NU withdrew from the tournament Saturday.
Details weren’t released on the withdrawal but Ricky Palou, president of the organizing Sports Vision, said he received a call early in the morning from Lady Bulldogs coach Babes Castillo regarding the pullout.
The Lady Bulldogs also announced the pullout on their Facebook page.
Soyud scored 17 points while Permentilla had 13 in trying to step up for the likes of Jema Galanza and Mylene Paat, who both already graduated.
“We can never replace those girls, there’s no replacing them but I believe that with Eli there stepping up and other players taking on new roles, we can build a new strong team,” added Padda.
New players indeed stepped up the plate with Bernadette Flora making 12 points, while newly named captain Lee Ann Perez adding eight markers for Adamson.
Bianca Tripoli scored 12 points for the Lady Altas while Cindy Imbo, Jhona Rosal, Shyra Umandal and Jenny Gaviola chipped in five points each.
University of the Philippines upended La Salle, 23-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-22, 15-12, in the men’s division earlier.
The Fighting Maroons mounted a 10-4 start in the deciding set and never looked back en route to their first win.
“This PVL stint is the time for my team to execute our program, rebuilding the character since the skill is already there,” UP head coach Hans Chuacuco said in Filipino. —WITH REPORTS FROM IVAN RUIZ L. SUING AND JUSTIN ROBERT VALENCIA, TRAINEES