Sta. Lucia earns first win, keeps UST struggling

After three straight losses to begin their 2017 Chooks-to-Go Philippine Superliga Grand Prix campaign, the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors finally broke into the win column, rallying past the Victoria Sports-University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.

The Lady Realtors’s passing suffered through at the start of the match. UST picked at their weakest receivers, and took a 16-14 lead in the first set and a 16-11 advantage in the second frame. Still, Sta. Lucia’s overwhelming offense took hold. Pam Lastimosa took charge against her former team, powering Sta. Lucia to a 20-17 lead in the first set. Marissa Field and Bohdana Anisova then fueled Sta. Lucia’s offense in the second set to take a 22-18 lead.

By the third set, Sta. Lucia had full control of the game. Following consecutive UST errors, the Lady Realtors blitzed the Tigresses, 16-10, to close the match.

“Collegiate team na ‘yung kalaban namin kanina so it would’ve been very bad for us kung mtatalo pa kami. Good thing na we finally won, we really needed this win,” confessed Sta. Lucia head coach Jerry Yee.

“We had a lot of lapses. We were trying out a few new things kanina to patch up our holes, especially on defense. We’re learning, we’re still adjusting,” the former UP Lady Maroons head coach added.

Anisova finished with 13 points, while Marisa Field and Lastimosa added 11 points, apiece.

Hefty lefty Dimdim Pacres towed the Tigresses with nine points. Caitlyn Viray and Carla Sandoval provided eight apiece.

The Lady Realtors (1-3) face the Foton Tornadoes (4-0) on Saturday at the De La Salle Univeristy – Lipa Centrum. UST’s (0-3) road to a win gets rougher with the undefeated F2 Logistics Cargo Movers (3-0) standing in their way also on Saturday.

The Scores

Sta. Lucia (3) – Anisova 13, Field 11, Lastimosa 11, Sante 9, Phillips 6, Cheng 1, Rivera 1, Moncks (L)

Victoria Sports-UST (0) – Pacres 9, Sandoval 8, Viray 8, Bicar 4, Inamasu 4, Francisco 2, Palec 1, Bangad 0, Delos Reyes 0, Agno (L)