Quezon City outlasted Imus City, 14-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16, 15-12, to clinch the No. 1 ranking in women’s Pool A of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
Bern Flora took charge and scored four of her nine points in the fifth set for the Lady Vikings, who checked Judith Abil and Justine Dorog in the decider.
With a 3-0 record, Quezon City will face the second-ranked squad in Pool B in the quarterfinals.
The Cavite-based AJAA Lady Spikers settled for second with a 2-1 card and will take on the Pool A winner in the next phase of the tournament supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Rebisco, PLDT, Philippine Olympic Committee, Cignal HD, One Sports, Cignal Play, F2 Logistics, and Amigo Segurado
Final day of women’s action is set Thursday, with Pool B leaders CPS Antipolo City (2-0) battling Davao City (1-1) at 6:30 p.m. and UE Manila (1-1) going up against Bulacan (0-2) at 8:30 p.m.
Abil led the Lady Vikings with 16 points, including two blocks, Sheeka Espinosa chipped in 10 points, while Dorog also scored nine points.
Monica Guibao had six service aces for a 16-point outing while Jorelle Singh and Julie Catindig each had 14 points for Imus.
Earlier, UB Batangas topped ICC Caloocan, 25-15, 15-25, 25-23, 25-19, to finish third in Pool A.
Despite missing the semis bus, Lady Brahmans coach Roderick Del Mundo is grateful to play in big-time competitions like the Champions League.
“We would like to thank the PNVF for giving us the opportunity to showcase the talents of our athletes,” said Del Mundo, as UB is now setting its sights for the NCAA-South and PRISAA tournaments next month. “It is a great help for the kids because you can’t get experience from anywhere. By playing against strong teams, definitely, when we return to Batangas, we will become stronger as a team.”
Kylie Macatangay capped her sensational outing for the Lady Brahmans with 26 points, matching Jelai Gajero’s tournament-high in the CAL Babies four-set win over the Lady Warriors last Monday. She also had a team-best four service aces.
“Actually, she has been with us since high school. So she came from our grassroots and with her experience, she knows how to carry the team,” said Del Mundo.
Ednelle Maniquis tallied 12 kills for the Lady Blue Hawks, who ended up winless in three matches.