Dec. 11, 7:48 p.m. – THE UST Lady Spikers shook off a listless start and defeated a hapless University of the Phillippines (UP) squad 22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-18, at the Arena in San Juan today.
Maika Ortiz tossed in 16 points, while Maruja Banaticla and rookie Carmela Tunay chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.
“Pangit ang warm-up ng mga players. ‘Di nila sineseryoso ‘yung laban kaya kinailangan ko pang magalit para magising sila,” coach Odjie Mamon said. “Pero sa ngayon, kailangan ko pa ng tunay na leader na magse-step-up—‘yung handang mag-organize sa loob ng court.”
The Lady Maroons, led by Pauline Araneta’s back-to-back spikes, broke an 11-all deadlock in the last frame for a 15-11 point lead.
But UST fought back with Ortiz nailing a quick hit to tie the count at 16-all. Ortiz and Tunay then ignited a 6-0 blitz for a 23-17 lead.
UP’s Jezza Lasmarias recorded a career high 17 points, while Araneta had 12 points in a losing effort.
The Lady Spikers have now won two straight after opening the season with consecutive losses. They are tied with the Far Eastern University at fourth place with an identical 2-2 win-loss card. Chenny V. Ramos
