MAYNILAD KEPT its hopes alive for the next round as it defeated the Philippine Army, 26-24, 25-18, 18-25, 25-18, yesterday in the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan.
It was only Maynilad’s first win after losing its first three games in the single round phase but it revived the Water Dragons’ slim hopes for a playoff for the fourth and last semifinal berth in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.
The lone commercial team in the league surprised the Lady Troopers with a win in an extended first-set encounter then sustained their form in the next.
Although the fancied Army squad, the first of two semifinalists, bounced back with an imposing victory in the third set, the Water Dragons fought back in the fourth, breaking away from a tight contest to build leads of 17-11 and 22-14 before completing the big reversal./Correspondent Jonas Panerio