Perpetual stays in twice-to-beat hunt with EAC ripping
Perpetual Help bounced back from an opening-set loss on Monday to trim Emilio Aguinaldo College, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-17, to get back on the winning track and keep the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament leaders within sight at Filoil Flying V Centre.
Jhona Rosal tallied 17 points, including two service aces, while substitute Dana Persa had 11 points, 12 digs and six receptions for the Lady Altas, who rose to 6-2 and stayed in third spot, still with a solid chance at tabbing a top two berth that would come a long way in the playoffs.Tournament format calls for a Final Four format in case of no team sweeping the eliminations, meaning, finishing in the top two would carry a twice-to-beat advantage against lower-ranked foes.
College of Saint Benilde, unbeaten in seven games, has a chance to alter the format and make it a stepladder semifinals if it wins its last two games and makes the title series outright. Defending champion Arellano, which is at 6-1, clashes with Benilde next Friday.The Lady Generals took the opening frame before
the Lady Altas got their rhythm as Perpetual lost just 55 points in the next three sets to wrap up the win with conviction.“Even with a lousy overall performance, even if we were erratic, we still got the win,” said Perpetual Help coach Macky Cariño. “This will help us build our morale more. That was what was missing [in a loss] against San Beda.”
The Lady Generals suffered their seventh loss in eight matches.
Meanwhile, Louie Ramirez had 17 points, including two service aces, as defending two-time men’s titlist Perpetual moved within a win of claiming an outright Finals berth with a 25-23, 29-27,
28-26 conquest of Emilio Aguinaldo.
Later, Jose Rizal University ended its season with a 25-17, 18-25, 25-21, 25-13 win over Letran.
Dolly Verzosa had 16 points and 19 digs while Sydney Niegos chipped in 14 as the Lady Bombers finished their campaign with four wins against five losses.
JRU’s win gave defending champion Arellano University and Perpetual a free ride to the semis with only the positioning left to be contested.
The Lady Knights, who drew 20 points from Chamberlaine Cuñada, dropped to 3-4.
