Ateneo, AdU try to boost semis drive

Unbeaten Ateneo and Adamson look to move closer to the semifinals of the Shakey’s V-League Season 10 First Conference when they tangle with separate rivals at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Fresh from an 11-day break, Ateneo faces Arellano at 4 p.m. with the Lady Eagles hoping to assure themselves of at least a playoff for a berth in the Final Four.

Adamson, riding high on a three-game winning run to end the elimination-round, battles San Sebastian at 2 p.m. at the start of the quarterfinals.

As the No. 1 teams after the single round elimination round, the Lady Eagles and the Bulldogs find themselves grouped in one side along with the No. 3 squads (Arellano and La Salle-Dasmariñas) with the Nos. 2 and 4 teams (UST, Adamson, San Sebastian and Perpetual) making up the other group.

The Last 8 is a compact four-playdate phase with the top two in each side advancing to the crossover best-of-three semifinals.

They still need to win at least one of their two assignments in the quarterfinals to secure a playoff for a semifinal spot.

Adamson can take encouragement at the fact that San Sebastian hasn’t been as fearsome as the field had expected in the first round. The Lady Stags have been getting the usual production from Thai import Jeng Bualee, but the support has been left wanting in the first four games.

Bualee tallied the most points in the league with 105 in the first four games.

The Lady Falcons, on the other hand, have been relying on the superb forms of Angela Benting and Pau Soriano, the league’s most efficient attacker with a 53 percent success rate.

The Lady Eagles have not played since their straight-set victory over La Salle-Dasmarinas last April 21. The win completed an elimination-round sweep for the Lady Eagles, who are seeking a third straight title.