By Ricky Manliguis
MANILA—University
of the Philippines continued its winning ways in the Philippine Superliga Collegiate Grand Slam, but had to overcome a tough challenge from Colegio San
Agustin-Biñan for a 25-6, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22
victory Saturday at the Alonte Sports Artena in the City of Biñan.
The Lady Maroons got their bearings back
in the third and fourth frames against the Lady Eagles backed by the hometown
crowd for a 2-0 record in the tournament.
After storming the first set, UP
suddenly went vulnerable in the second set as CSA raced to a 20-13 lead to take the frame.
The fourth frame was an interesting
affair, with CSA coming back from a 17-21 deficit to come within 20-21. That
set the stage for UP to pile up five straight points, punctuated by Aie
Gannaban’s hit from the middle.
Rookie Nicole Magsarile led a balanced
scoring with 15 points on 12 hits and three service aces. Justine Dorog
finished with 14 markers on 13 hits, while Gannaban and Maristela Layug added
11 and 10 in that order.
Tots carlos, who shined in the Diliman
spikers opening win, had nine markers while having a hand on 10 of the team’s 68
digs.
UP had a huge 55-31 advantage in
attacks, while firing 16 service aces compared to CSA’s four.
“They (CSA) played good volleyball.
They wanted to win more than us,” echoed UP coach Godfrey Okumu after
the one-hour, 32-minute match.
"We thought the game was going to be
easy. But, it's good for our player to learn to take pressure from every game
they play,” he added.
Aliah Marce paced CSA-Biñan with 13
points on 11 attacks, while Lency Duarte fired 10.
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