Unbeaten teams University of Santo Tomas and Adamson University rolled past their respective rivals to secure seats in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-Season Championship Season 2 on Monday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Golden Tigresses pounced on the reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association champions College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers, 25-13, 22-25,
25-12, 25-22, to close their Pool C campaign unscathed.
UST, which previously trounced Letran College and the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, had another display of balanced scoring with three players finishing in double digits led by Jonna Perdido, who hammered all her 20 points from attacks.
Regina Jurado and Angeline Poyos produced 19 and 17 points, respectively, as the Tigresses advanced to the knockout quarters.
“We still have room for improvement. We need to develop our consistency entering the next round,” UST coach Kungfu Reyes said.
A 7-2 finishing bite highlighted by Jurado’s crosscourt hit in the fourth set secured the win for the Tigresses, who showed sharper fangs in erasing an 18-20 deficit and dodging a deciding set.
CSB, led by Gayle Pascual’s 13 points, slid to 1-1 in Pool C with a crucial game left against Perpetual next Saturday as Lyceum (1-2) fell short in advancing to the next round along with San Beda (0-2) in Pool B.
Meanwhile, Adamson clobbered NCAA runner-up Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-16, 25-16, 25-13, to secure the top spot in Pool B.
The Lady Falcons’ second win also gave way to the qualification of Arellano University (2-1) in Pool B as Lyceum (1-2) crashed out of contention.
Defending champion National University (2-0) from Pool A is the other team to have booked its seat in the playoffs, leaving only four spots up for grabs in the final week of the elimination round.
