Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
10 a.m. — Adamson vs UE (m)
12 p.m. — La Salle vs FEU (m)
2 p.m. — Adamson vs UE (w)
4 p.m. — La Salle vs FEU (w)
De La Salle University attempts to stretch its winning streak to five games as the defending champions go tangle with Far Eastern University Saturday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Spikers, who finished the first-round in second place with a 6-1 record, aim to score a repeat of their 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 conquest of the Lady Tamaraws last 21 February at 4 p.m.
Adamson University and University of the East hope to leave behind their first round struggles in the 2 p.m. curtainraiser.
La Salle is trying to catch up with league-leading University of Santo Tomas, unbeaten in eight matches, and fend off National University, which sits in third place with a 6-2 slate.
The Tigresses and the Lady Bulldogs cross paths at the Big Dome on Sunday before the league takes a Lenten break.
FEU, meanwhile, is looking good for its bid to return to the Final Four after a 4-3 first round. The Lady Tamaraws are ahead by two games over the fifth-running Lady Falcons (2-5).
The Lady Spikers hardly missed several key players from last season’s championship run, as reigning Most Valuable Player Angel Canino, Shevana Laput, Alleiah Malaluan, Thea Gagate and Em Provido were able to hold the fort.
Playmaker Julia Coronel and libero Lyka de Leon, who took over the spots left by Mars Alba and Justine Jazareno, respectively, had a respectable showing in the first round.
Coronel is the league’s third-best in the setting department behind University of Santo Tomas’s Cassie Carballo and FEU’s Tin Ubaldo, and also ranked third in serving. De Leon, for her part, currently ranks second in receiving behind Det Pepito of the Tigresses.
The Lady Tamaraws hope to beat a top-three team that will serve notice not only for their Final Four aspirations but also to contend for the championship.
Gerzel Petallo and Chenie Tagaod have proven to be FEU’s 1-2 punch, while Congo’s Faida Bakanke has rebounded from a slow start.
Mired at the lower half of the standings, Adamson needs to start piling up wins to keep its quest for a second consecutive Final Four stint afloat.
The Lady Warriors, who bowed to the Lady Falcons, 19-25, 19-25, 28-26, 27-29, in the first round, have lost six in a row after a promising start. UE’s lone win came from the hands of Ateneo on opening day.
In the men’s division, FEU and La Salle, which have 6-1 and 5-2 records, respectively, clash at 12 noon in a match-up that has a huge implication for the No. 2 spot. Adamson and UE take the floor at 10 a.m.
