THE Philippine Army tries to cap an imposing campaign in the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference today as it guns for a sweep of San Sebastian College in their best-of-three finals series at The Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Troopers unloaded a new weapon in their already fearsome arsenal to turn what was expected to be a close title series opener into a virtual romp with a 25-9, 25-20, 25-16 victory last Sunday.
By neutralizing the Lady Stags’ vaunted attacking game with solid blocking, the Troopers put them in the threshold of winning the first-ever Open championship in the eight-year league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.
But the three-day break should’ve given the Lady Stags enough time to make the necessary adjustment and plug the holes that enabled the Troopers to run away with the one-sided win.
Meanwhile, Ateneo, winner of the first conference organized by Sports Vision and backed by Accel, Mikasa and Maynilad Water, also guns for a sweep of its own series for third place with Navy at 2 p.m. The Lady Eagles hacked out a thrilling 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 14-25, 15-8, victory in Game One but are expected to have their hands full against the Lady Sailors today.
The Carolino sisters — Michelle and Marietta — have combined well with Rachel Ann Daquis, Joanne Buñag, Cristina Salak, Mary Jean Balse and Dahlia Cruz while the bench has provided solid back-up that has made Army a tough team to beat. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio