GAMES TODAY
(Mall of Asia Arena)
9 a.m. – NU vs. AdU (M)
11 a.m. – Ateneo vs. La Salle (M)
1 p.m. – NU vs. AdU (W)
3 p.m. – Ateneo vs. La Salle (W)
LA Salle and Ateneo, two teams which struggled in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament, collide in the rivalry match while defending champion National University tries to inch closer in sweeping the first round as it tangles with Adamson University today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Lady Spikers eye to extend their domination against the Blue Eagles to 15 matches and gain a piece of third place at 3 p.m.
It will be a showdown between the present and the future, as the Bella Belen-powered Lady Bulldogs put their undefeated streak on the line against the Shai Nitura-led Lady Falcons at 1 p.m.
NU remains as the lone unbeaten team with a 5-0 record while University of Santo Tomas is not far behind at 5-1.
La Salle, which is hoping to tie Far Eastern University at 4-2, has won its last 14 meetings against Ateneo dating back from May 2, 2017.
Assistant coach Noel Orcullo knows that the Lady Spikers cannot take the Blue Eagles for granted, even though they lost another key spiker in Sobe Buena to injury.
“Actually sanakikitanamannaminsaAteneotalagangangganda ng improvement nilayunngalangmarami ring injuries sakanila although peronakikitanamannatinyungtiyaga ng Ateneosa baba, yungatake. AngAteneohindirinnamanmaliliit, angtatangkad din ng Ateneo kaya talagangkayang kaya nilasumabay. May blocking angAteneo, may atake kaya kailangantalagapaghandaan,” said Orcullo.
The 1-4 Blue Eagles are slightly ahead in the spiking department, as they ranked fourth in the league over the Lady Spikers, who are in fifth.
Coach Sherwin Meneses, facing his alma mater he handled from 2012 to 2016 for the first time, stressed the need for his Lady Bulldogs to polish their game further as the elimination round nears mid-point.
“Every day namannaghahanap kami talaga ng maiimprovetalaganamin every training talaga. Marami pa naman [improve] kasisyempreyung time nanasa NU akotalaganghindi pa ganungkahabapero knowing namanyung NU meronnamantalagasilangsariling talent, talaganghinahanapnaminyung the best namagiimprove kami every training tsakasa every game. I think marami pa (ma-improve),” said Meneses.
All eyes will be on the match-up between Belen, who led the Lady Bulldogs to two of the league’s last three titles, and Nitura, a former high school girls MVP who hopes to bring the Lady Falcons back as one of the top teams.
