Janine Navarro carried the scoring load for the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Lady Blazers to surpass the Technological Institute of the Philippines Lady Engineers 25-16, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22 in the Shakeys V-League Collegiate Conference at the FilOil Flying V Arena earlier today.
Leading two sets to none against the upset-hungry Lady Engineers, the Lady Blazers were unable to maintain the composure they had in the early parts of the match; with Michelle Verano unloading four service aces to give TIP a 5-1 lead in the third set.The errors coming from the Lady Blazers and Guest player Hazelyn Acuña’s scoring onslaught buried the NCAA-based team with a 16-11 lead. Jeanette Panaga came to the rescue to salvage the third set for the Lady Blazers, but Michelle Dela Cruz and Acuña kept the Lady Engineers in the driver’s seat to snatch a set from Benilde.
Navarro led the charge early in the following set. She was able to stop the Lady Engineers with an off the block attack for an 8-3 lead after the first technical timeout. Both teams exchanged scores throughout the set but luckily for the Lady Blazers, Panaga stepped out to finish off the pesky Lady Engineers with a quick hit and a block on TIP’s Christine Maderazo to hold a slim 23-22 lead.
Former UP Lady Maroon Alyssa Layug, gave Benilde a free point with an attack error to put the Lady Blazers into match point, and Melanie Torres scored again to put the match away.
Lady Blazers coach Michael Carino said that the Lady Blazers relaxed too much in the third set which was why the Lady Engineers managed to notch the third set.
“First two sets ay nakuha namin, nag relax ang team na matagal nang sakit na nila,” said Carino.
Navarro top scored Lady Blazers with 24 points while Panaga and Ranya Musa chipped 19 and 13 markers apiece. Djanel Cheng made her presence felt with 38 excellent sets.
Eden Maturan finished with 13 points all coming from attacks to lead TIP, while Acuña contributed 12 points.
The Lady Blazers will next face the UST Golden Tigresses on July 26 at 3 pm while TIP’s next assignment will be against the San Sebastian Lady Stags on July 25, 5pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
CSB (3) – Navarro 24, Panaga 19, Musa 13, Torres 12, Cheng 2, Santillan 1, Ramos 1, Austero 0, Borrero 0, Enclona (L), Lim (L)
TIP (1) – Maturan 13, Acuña 12, Fidel 7, Layug 7, Verano 6, Dela Cruz 4, Maderazo 4, Espinosa 3, Perez 0, Sarmiento (L), Soliva (L)
