University of the East (UE) and Far Eastern University (FEU) battle separate foes in the women’s V-League Collegiate Challenge, squaring off against NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) squads as both look to stay unbeaten while continuing to tweak their respective games at Paco Arena in Manila.
The Lady Warriors will battle dangerous Perpetual Help in the 2 p.m. contest, with coach Jerry Yee looking to see consistent outputs from his second and third units as UE continues to strive to be a contender when the new UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) season rolls along.
“Our starting unit has been playing well,” Yee said in Filipino. “But we need to develop our depth—our second and third six.”
The Lady Warriors are expected to again be led by Jelai Gajero, rookie captain Kizzie Madriaga and Casiey Dongallo, the trio from California Academy in Antipolo which has been instrumental in UE’s winning streak.
The Lady Tamaraws, on the other hand, believe that it’s all a matter of hard work for them from here and that they are progressing at just about the right time going into their 4 p.m. clash with winless Lyceum.
“We won’t stop the things that we are doing,” interim coach Manolo Refugia said after they notched a third straight win. “We will continue to work hard because we believe that we are our own enemy. It’s still a long journey for us.”
Meanwhile, in men’s play, Perpetual Help will try to bounce back from its first loss when it tangles with FEU in the 10 a.m. game as the Altas try to stay in second place.
University of Santo Tomas battles a winless Emilio Aguinaldo crew in the 12 noon game with coach Odjie Mamon eager to see how his charges will fare after coming off a 25-19, 25-19, 25-15 ripping of the Altas last week.
“I just hope that [in our next game], our pacing will still be the same,” Mamon said. INQ