Air Force defeats gritty Maynilad

THE LADY SPIKERS of Air Force repulsed a hard-fighting Maynilad squad, 25-17, 25-17, 26-24, in the quarterfinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

A timely timeout by Air Force coach Ariel dela Cruz stalled the Water Dragons’ momentum as the Airwomen strung up four straight points to turn a 22-24 deficit into a two-point win with Jennifer Manzano clinching the 70-minute victory for Air Force with a kill after an exchange of spikes.

The win was Air Force’s first after back-to-back losses in the single round quarters as it joined Navy in fourth while dampening Maynilad’s semifinal chances in the league.

Maynilad slid to 0-3 (win-loss) and would need to sweep its last two games against Army and San Sebastian and hope Ateneo, Navy and Air Force don’t win more than two games to force a playoff for the last semis berth./Correspondent Jonas Panerio