By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today
(The Arena, San Juan)
4 p.m. – Arellano vs Adamson
(Battle for 3rd, Lady Chiefs lead series 1-0)
6:30 p.m. – NU vs FEU
(Championship, Lady Bulldogs lead series 1-0)
National University aims to wield the big broom while Far Eastern University hopes to live to fight another day as they square off anew tonight in Game2 of their Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Season Collegiate Conference title series at The Arena in San Juan City.
Game is set at 6:30 p.m., with the Lady Bulldogs determined to gain a strong encore to a four-set victory in the opener last Wednesday and complete their drive for a three-peat.
But the Lady Tamaraws, with their backs against the wall, are expected to come out swinging, much like what they did in overhauling a familiar 1-0 series deficit in the semifinal round against the Adamson Lady Falcons.
“We’ve been in this situation before. So I told them we should learn from that,” said FEU coach George Pascua, sounding confident about their chances of putting on hold what appears to be a big NU bash.
To do such, Pascua should draw a better collective effort from the likes of Toni Basas, Czarina Carandang and Jeanette Villareal to overcome the absence of skipper and top hitter Bernadeth Pons and libero Kyla Atienza due to their commitments in the UAAP beach volleyball tourney.
The Lady Tamaraws must also tighten up their defensive screws against the Lady Bulldogs’ potent hitters bannered by the towering Jaja Santiago who torched them with 15 kills, including four blocks, the last time out.
Even the likes of Risa Sato Audrey Paran, Jorelle Singh and Aiko Urdas have been doing the damage while setter Jasmine Nabor continues to shine with her efficient playmaking for NU.
But Lady Bulldogs coach Babes Castillo is reminding his wards to brace themselves for an expected Lady Tamaraws fightback. “We’ve seen some rallies that we could’ve controlled right away. But like I said hindi pa nila makuha ang balance on being relaxed and assertive,” he said.
Meanwhile, Arellano University tries to repeat a straight-sets win over Adamson and clinch the bronze medal honors in Game 2 of their Battle for Third set at 4 p.m.
In the men’s division, Ateneo looks to sweep its way to the crown against FEU at 1 p.m. while University of Santo Tomas tries to repeat over NU in their battle for third set at 8 a.m.
