The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Lady Blazers gave themselves away to the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons, 2-3, in back-to-back tight games, to claim their second loss in the Shakeys Super League Pre-season Championship, today, Oct. 22, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Center in Manila.
The first set saw Adamson’s Rochelle Lalongisip make a name for herself as she started to heat up early with nine quick points. The Lady Blazers had no answers to begin the game as the set was notched by the Lady Falcons, 18-25.
Meanwhile, the second set was the complete upside-down, as it was the Lady Blazers’ turn to flex their muscles. Thanks to Wielyn Estoque and Clydel Catarig who each scored four apiece, the ladies in green and white dominated the set, 25-10.
The third set had the Lady Falcons much closer as Lalongisip, after being non-existent in the previous frame, added seven more points to her name. However, with Rhea Densig and Estoque chipping in for the Taft squad, the Lady Blazers prevailed and won the set 25-17, snatching the one-set lead.
The fourth set was tragic for the Lady Blazers, as errors and miscommunications cost them the lead. To add to the spiral, senior Lady Falcons Lucille Almonte and Lorene Toring stepped in and combined for 14 points, pushing their squad back on track. At the set-point stage, Lalongisip spiked it through the Lady Blazers’ defense, in which the ladies in green and white were unable to take control of the ball, forcing a fifth and final set, 18-25.
Even though the Lady Blazers began the deciding set with a 2-0 lead, the mismanagement of their errors extended as overpowering spikes and misreads of the Lady Falcons’ attacks proved to be detrimental. The Lady Falcons’ lead grew to six after Almonte blocked a Cristy Ondangan spike attempt. From there on the match belonged to Adamson, winning the final frame, 8-15.
SET SCORES: 18-25, 25-10, 25-17, 18-25, 8-15
DLS-CSB (2) - Estoque 13, Pascual 11, Catarig 11, Ondangan 11, Densig 7, Apostol 6, Nolasco 3, Mondoñedo 3, Gentapa 2, Dorog 2, Basarte 1, Gamit 1 Getigan 0, Estenzo 0
AdU (3) - Lalongisip 21, Almonte 14, Toring 14, Adolfo 13, Aljibe 4, Juegos 3, Ancheta 2, Alcantara 2, Yandoc 1, Villegas 1, Verdeflor 0, Manuel 0, Bascon 0, Jamili 0
