INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — With a masterful effort, veteran Nerisa Bautista lifted Adamson in a 25-18, 25-16, 14-25, 25-22 triumph over Letran to secure a spot in the playoffs Thursday in the 9th Shakey’s V-League First Conference at the Arena in San Juan.
Bautista, a national team member, delivered down the stretch with two resounding hits for the Lady Falcons to fend off a dangerous mounting rally of the Lady Knights for the crucial win.
Finishing with 22 points, Bautista scored off the block to give Adamson the match point before going for game winner with a the kill.
Pau Soriano, another veteran in the bunch, added 16 points for The Lady Falcons.
It would have been a lopsided affair all throughout, but the Lady Falcons eased up on the gas pedal and yielded the third set to the Lady Knights.
“We lost our reception and the girls relaxed in third set. I think it’s really our team’s weakness. We have to practice,” said assistant coach Sherwin Meneses.
Adamson, with a 2-2 record, nailed a quarterfinals spot and eliminated the winless Letran, which lost its fourth game.
But the Lady Knights didn’t go down without swinging, nearly forging a winner-take-all fifth set by trimming the deficit down to a point, 22-23, on an ace from guest player Patcharee Sangmuang.
Sangmuang scored 16 points, three off service aces, while Joy Cases added 10 points.
Letran stunned Adamson in the third set, limiting the squad to just 14 points but was unable to sustain the tenacity to recover from a 0-2 set deficit.