The long road for the Ateneo Lady Eagles ended with a second straight title as they strung up the University of Sto. Tomas Lady Tigresses in the nerve-wracking Game 3, 25-19, 25-14, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13, in the Shakey’s V-League at the Arena in San Juan City.
The Lady Eagles blew a 2-0 set lead and had to crawl back from a 1-4 deficit in the deciding fifth set to gain a 12-7 lead before hanging on for the win and the crown.
UST had one last fight in them as they scored six straight points to tie the match at 13-all. However, UST’s Judy Caballejo hit it long and Lady Eagle Dzi Gervacio came through with a powerful spike that pierced through the Tigresses’ defense to end the most tightly-fought match in Shakey’s V-League history.
It was a fitting ending to the hyped-up finale between the league’s two leading teams with UST turning what had appeared to be an Ateneo breeze into a thrilling match. The Tigresses even looked headed for a big turnaround after taking the third and fourth sets and then posting a 4-1 lead in the decider. Correspondent Jonas Panerio