FEU survives Adamson in battle of SSL leaders
FAR Eastern U took down Adamson, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20, in the battle of unbeaten squads for a flying start in the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Collegiate Pre-Season Championship playoffs Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
Faida Bakanke and Gerzel Petallo teamed up in the clutch as the Lady Tamaraws thwarted the Lady Falcons in each of the airtight sets to earn a gritty sweep in 85 minutes and post a 1-0 record in Pool F.
Bakanke dropped 11 points on nine hits, a block and an ace as Petallo hammered all her 10 points on attacks in FEU’s fourth win in as many games in the SSL Season 2 backed by Mikasa, Eurotel, Victory Liner, Summit Bottle Water, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, R and B Milk Tea, Potato Corner, Rebel Sports, Converge ICT Solutions, Genius Sports and United Auctioneers, Inc.
Eight more players racked up the scoring board led by Mitzi Panangin with eight points for the wards of deputy mentor Manolo Refugia.
“Naniwala lang po ako na mananalo kami. Doon po nag-start ‘yung confidence ko. Magtiwala lang sa sarili at sa team,” said Petallo, who delivered the match-sealing attack.
The Lady Tamaraws, who swept Pool D with wins over Ateneo, Emilio Aguinaldo College and Mapua, anticipated a back-and-forth showdown with the Lady Falcons but surprisingly emerged triumphant in straight sets – thanks to the duo of Bakanke and Petallo.
Bakanke anchored FEU’s 5-0 closeout with a thunderous crosscourt kill in the first set from a deadlock at 20 before flashing a crisp kill anew in the second as the Lady Tamaraws nearly wasted a comfortable 23-19 lead.
Petallo took her turn in the clincher, spearheading the Lady Tamaraws’ runaway from a 15-all score highlighted by a long attack that fell just right at the backline of the Lady Falcons’ defense for the win.
FEU clashes next against back-to-back NCAA champion College of St. Benilde next Saturday in an attempt to zero in on the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals from the playoffs where the top eight squads carried over their preliminary round standings.
Antonette Adolfo put up 12 points to pace the Lady Falcons, who absorbed their first defeat after sweeping Arellano, Lyceum and San Beda in Pool B of the 16-team SSL in cooperation with the Commission on Higher Education and the Philippine Sports Commission.
All games will be accessible across all platforms live and on-demand through the social media pages of Plus Network and SSL with Solar Sports, Blast TV and Aliw Channel 23 as TV partners.
