Shakey’s V-League: Army secures hilltop post share of lead

MANILA—Army, getting significant contributions from its starting six, made quick work of Air Force, 25-23, 25-13, 25-20, Wednesday to share the lead with its second straight win in the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 Open Conference at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.

National team standouts Michelle Carolino and Mary Jean Balse spearheaded a balanced attack with 18 and 11 hits, respectively, as Army joined idle Ateneo on top.

There was no shortage of support for the duo as Dahlia Cruz, Marietta Carolino and Joanne Bunag combined for 25 points to help Army pull off the victory in 67 minutes.

Later, Nene Bautista fired 20 points, including seven aces, as veteran-laden team Navy bounced back with a 25-13, 25-23, 25-17 walloping of San Sebastian.

Navy, which absorbed a four-set loss to Army in its debut last Sunday, improved to 1-1 while tying its victim for third.

Former national team standout Cecille Tabuena-Cruzada, a few pounds heavier than when she was in her prime, showed she still had what it takes to mix it up with the younger players, finishing with eight points, including a couple of well-placed hits that set the tone for the breakaway in the third set.

Facing her former team, Suzanne Roces refused to pull any punches, winding up with 11 points, while another veteran campaigner, Michelle Laborte, had a solid outing with 10 points.

The Lady Stags looked out of sync and disjointed as they returned several easy balls for Navy to pounce on.

Analyn Benito and libero Mae Crisostomo epitomized the struggle in the third set when they let what should have been an easy second ball drop to the ground for a Navy point.

San Sebastian showed a semblance of a fight in the second set when it battled back to within a point after falling behind, 18-24. Roces, though, doused the uprising with a well-placed kill to the backline.

Navy put together four straight points to pull away, 16-10, in the third set after back-to-back hits by Bautista. Five unanswered points, capped by Cruzada’s kill all but wrapped up the game for Navy, 22-13.

Despite the win, Army coach Rico De Guzman was unhappy with his squad’s floor defense.

“Our reception still needs to improve if we really want to go far in this tournament,” said De Guzman, whose squad just had 35 excellent digs, eight less than Air Force’s tally.

It was the second straight loss for Air Force whose lack of firepower was once again exposed. Only guest player Aiza Maizo and Cherry Macatangay breached double figures with 14 and 10, respectively.

Army had plenty of attacking options, with Michelle Carolino making the most out of the opportunities with 15 kills in 48 attempts. Carolino’s attack points was almost half of Air Force’s total output of 31.