Toughened by a couple of nerve-wracking five-setters against St. Benilde in the Final Four, Adamson U played with grit and poise against fancied UST, hacking out a 23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 15-11 decision to zero in on the PVL Collegiate Conference crown at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan last Wednesday.
Trisha Genesis flashed top form again and scored 21 points with the rising sophomore star drawing solid backup from rookies Lucille Almonte, Lorene Toring and setter Louie Romero to hammer out the victory at the start of their best-of-three title series.
“We learned so much from our semis series with St. Benilde. Being able to withstand the pressure and not giving up served them well. It’s tough but it’s good for their character,” said AdU coach Lerma Giron, whose wards battled the Lady Blazers in two five-setters which they split before the Taft-based squad won their sudden death by four.
They showed it against the Tigresses, who came into the title series brimming with confidence after disposing of the reigning UAAP champs Ateneo Lady Eagles in their side of the semis which also went the distance.
Almonte finished with 15 points, including the last three points of Adamson while Toring dominated the net with seven kill blocks and likewise scored 15 points. Romero stayed consistent with her playmaking as she tallied 33 excellent sets.
The Lady Falcons gun for the clincher today. Coming into Game Two, the Lady Falcons vowed to raise the level of their game in anticipation of the Tigresses’ strong fightback as they seek their first championship in the league since ruling the defunct V-League’s Season 7 second conference in 2010.
Genesis added 16 digs and 20 excellent receives for another superb performance after anchoring the team’s come-from-behind win against the Lady Blazers.
The Lady Falcons took a 12-8 lead in the decider but yielded back-to-back points off miscues, enabling the Tigresses to threaten. But Almonte countered with back-to-back hits before EJ Laure scored on an off-speed hit to save a match point for UST.
But Almonte made sure the Tigresses won’t get any closer as she fired a crosscourt hit to finish off their rivals.
Eya Laure had 19 points with 16 coming off attacks and three kill blocks in an outing she laced with 25 digs for the Tigresses. Rookie Imee Hernandez and EJ Laure had 15 markers each for UST, which forced the decider with a 4-0 closing run to break a 21-all count in the fourth frame.
