Lady Stags take down V-League leader Tigresses

Reigning NCAA five-peat titlist San Sebastian College bounced back from two consecutive despicable losses, shocking league leader University of Santo Tomas, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22 in the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 6 second conference at the San Juan Arena. Struggling previously, the Lady Stags proved their critics wrong as they flashed their game-long brilliance to deal the Tigresses their first defeat after sweeping the elimination round. NCAA Season 85 MVP Annalyn Joy Benito scored a game-high 25 hits while guest player Jinni Mondejar added 16 points to make up for their lackluster performance in the team’s last two games. Also showing their true fighting form were veterans Margarita Pepito and Melissa Mirasol, who added 13 and 11 points, respectively. “Siguro meron lang silang gusting patunayan, hindi lamang sa lahat kundi pati sa kanilang sarili at ito na nga yun," said Lady Stags Coach Roger Gorayeb referring to his players’ determination to show they can still win and beat the strongest team in the league right now.

Despite the loss, the Tigresses led by Maika Ortiz and Angeli Tabaquero’s 18 points, remained on top of the standings with 7-1 win-loss slate. The Lady Stags, on the other end, moved up to second spot with a 6-3 record in a tie with Far Eastern University, which bowed to Adamson in the first match, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 25-21, 13-15. Earlier, College of St. Benilde capitalized on the absence of Ateneo guest player Charo Soriano who’s on a two-week vacation in the US, to surprise the Lady Eagles in straight sets, 25-22, 28-26, 25-23. With their third win in eight outings, the Lady Blazers kept their hopes of making it to the next round alive while the Lady Eagles dropped to third spot in a tie with the Lady Falcons with identical 5-4 slates. - GMANews.TV