Winnie Bedina of University.of Perpetual Help battles Wielyn Estoque, Zamanth Nolasco and Cloa Mondonedo of St. Benilde.
SSL photo
Perpetual Help, Adamson complete Shakey’s semis cast
SSL photo
AND then there were four.
University of Perpetual Help System Dalta and Adamson completed the semifinal round cast following contrasting victories over their respective opponents in the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals at the Filoil EcoOil Centre late Wednesday.
Perpetual Help pulled the rug from under two-time NCAA champion College of St. Benilde in five gruelling sets, 25-16, 20-25, 28-26, 16-25, 15-12, to reach the semis and become the first NCAA team to beat the Lady Blazers in two years.
Adamson ended the title aspirations of CESAFI titlist University of San Jose- Recoletos, 25-9, 25-11, 25-23 in only 70 minutes of play.
Reigning NCAA MVP Mary Rhose Dapol flashed her deadly form when it mattered most as she came away with a tournament-high of 33 points built on 28 attacks, four aces and a block.
Winnie Bedaña, Shaila Omipon and Charmaine Ocado tallied 17, 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Perpetual in the match that lasted two hours and seven minutes.
“Masaya syempre kasi malakas ang CSB bilang back-to-back NCAA champion. Thank God at maganda yung nilaro ng mga bata,” said coach Sandy Rieta.
“Hindi ko rin ine-expect. Di ko nga alam schedule ng semifinals kasi ang iniisip ko, quarters lang kami pero andon din yung tiwala na mananalo kami. Malaki ang tiwala ko sa team. Nakita ko yung improvement nila from previous NCAA seasons.”
It was a disappointing finish for St. Benilde, which swept its way in the NCAA for back-to-back perfect championship runs prior to the stinging defeat against Perpetual in five sets, the first extended duel in the 12-team National Invitationals.
Perpetual Help, which finished second to La Salle in Pool A to make the Round of 8, caught St. Benilde napping with a 25-16 opening salvo that set the tone in the back-and-forth tussle.
The Lady Blazers, expectedly, would retaliate to equalize the match only for Dapol to rescue the Lady Altas in the third set for a 28-26 escape act and a 2-1 lead.
As CSB forced a rubber set by dominating the fourth frame and got off to the races with a 3-1 lead in the clincher, Dapol willed Perpetual anew by stringing four straight points for a 5-3 cushion that snowballed to an 11-7 gap en route to a historic triumph.
In the other match, Lucille Almonte tallied 12 points on eight hits and four aces as the Lady Falcons stretched their winning ways without a single set allowed in three games so far after topping Pool C.
“Na-lessen namin ‘yung errors namin dito sa quarterfinals. Siguro, ‘yun ang kumbaga close to consistent na. Hoping sa semis, yun pa rin ang maipakita namin o kaya mahigitan pa namin yung ginagawa namin,” said Lady Falcons mentor JP Yude.
Christelle Tamayo was the lone bright spot for Group B runner-up USJ-R with nine points.
Earlier Wednesday, La Salle hardly worked out a sweat in beating Mindanao bet Jose Maria College Foundation (JMCF), 25-18, 25-14, 25-19, while University of Santo Tomas needed four sets to frustrate and NAASCU champion Enderun Colleges, 25-13, 25-16, 21-25, 25-14, to forge their own semis duel. on Friday.
