MANILA – University of the Philippines Lady Maroons entered the finals of the Philippine Superliga Collegiate Grand Slam after a 25-21, 25-12, 25-22 win over De La Salle-Dasmariñas Lady Patriots over the weekend at the San Juan Arena.
Even with the absence of veteran Diana Carlos, the Lady Maroons showed poise as they ended the Lady Patriots in 68 minutes and claimed the first finals ticket with a 4-1 win-loss slate.
Caryl Sandoval showed the way with 11 points while Bacolodnon Jessma Ramos and rookie Nicole Magsarile contributed 8 markers apiece for the Lady Maroons, which will likely face top seed University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses in the finals.
The Lady Maroons were so pristine with their plays the entire game, surging to an early advantage in all three sets before showing their experience down the stretch to prevent the Lady Patriots from completing a run.
UP will appear for the second time in a preseason final round after claiming the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference title at the expense of Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws.
“It’s a good feeling to be in the finals,” said UP head coach Godfrey Okumu. “You don’t have any option but to win. I hope it’s a good legacy, something we’ve started being in the finals and we’ll continue all the way to the UAAP.”
On the other hand, the Lady Tamaraws halted their three-match skid as they fought back from a 2-1 set deficit before denying University of the East Lady Warriors a shot at victory in a five-set thriller 14-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-18, 15-13 to end their elimination round with a 2-3 slate.
Coming off a frustrating five-set loss to Colegio San Agustin-Biñan last week, the Lady Tamaraws struggled early on against the Lady Red Warriors before turning things around and surviving a grueling one hour and 54 minutes of battle./PN
