Ateneo Lady Eagles put brakes on Tigresses’ win streak in straight sets

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Ateneo De Manila University Lady Eagles halt the University of Santo Tomas’ 4-game winning streak, sweeping the Tigresses, 25-10, 26-24, 28-26 on Wednesday, March 15 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan. 

After a double-digit loss in the opening set, the Tigresses pushed the last two sets to a tiebreaker as they kept pace with league leaders Ateneo in the offensive department with 33 excellent attacks apiece.

Apart from maintaining composure in the endgame, the Lady Eagles also capitalized on their rivals’ reception errors as they listed 16 aces that helped wrap the match up.

“Teamwork talaga kaya nanalo Ateneo,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sherwin Meneses after the game. “Teamwork talaga, lahat gumawa.” (Teamwork was the key to Ateneo’s win. It really was teamwork, everybody contributed.) 

Bea de Leon and Jho Maraguinot combined for 24 markers for the Lady Eagles, while Kat Tolentino added 11 from 7 attacks. 

Team captain Cherry Rondina had a game-high 14 points from 12 attacks and 2 aces, while EJ Laure had 9. 

The Lady Eagles now earn a win-loss record of 8-1, while UST takes part of a 4-way tie with National University, University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University which all likewise hold a 5-4 slate. 

Ateneo will next face the Lady Tamaraws on Saturday, March 18.

Scores: 

ADMU (3): De Leon 12, Maraguinot 12, Tolentino 11, Morente 10, Gopico 5, Morado 3, Madayag 2, Gequillana 1 

UST (0): Rondina 14, Laure 9, Meneses 8, Cortez 5, Pacres 3, Palec 2, Francisco 1, Cabanos 1

– Rappler.com