University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and College of Saint Benilde bested their respective rivals to formalize their stints in the semifinal round of the V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena in Manila onh Sunday.
The Lady Altas needed to squeeze out everything to pound out a tough 16-25, 25-18, 25-18, 39-37 decision while the Lady Blazers foiled the erstwhile unbeaten University of the East, 23-25, 25-22, 29-27, 25-18.
Gayle Pascual unloaded a 23-point game, including clutch hits in the third, while Jade Gentapa backed her up with 20 points as the Lady Blazers rebounded from a tough four-set loss to the streaking Far Eastern U Lady Tams last Friday to hike their record to 4-1.
They also dealt the Lady Warriors their first defeat after a run of five victories, leaving the first semifinalist Lady Tams the lone unbeaten squad in the eight-team field in their side of the two-division tournament organized by Sports Vision.
The Lady Altas toiled for two hours before finally thwarting the hard-fighting Lady Cardinals, who saved a number of match points before Shaila Omipon stepped up to wrap up the length match with skipper Razel Aldea providing support from the service line.
“Masaya na maganda ‘yung performance nila sa last three sets. Nung first set, hindi ko alam ang nangyari. Maganda ‘yung adjustment in-game sinunod naman nila, pati adjustments mismo sa sarili nila,” said Perpetual coach Sandy Rieta.
Omipon finished with 25 points, including three of her 21 kills in the clutch that kept the Lady Altas in front in the exacting 44-minute fourth set duel. The outside hitter also added two blocks and two aces while Charmaine Ocado came through with 13 markers and Aldea added 10 points.
Roxie Dela Cruz paced the Lady Cardinals with 16 markers, but it was not enough to save the team from elimination with a 1-4 slate with one playdate left in the semis.
In men’s play, Perpetual Help shook off a second set slip and went on to produce a 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over National U to revive its semifinal hopes with a 3-3 mark.
Reigning NCAA MVP Louie Ramirez marked his return to the Las Piñas-based squad with a fiery 30-point performance, highlighted by 28 kills with his last blast clinching the victory for the Altas. KC Andrade contributed 11 points, including seven from attacks.
