Days after their elimination round meeting, the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors again breezed past the University of Santo Tomas Tigresses, 25-16, 25-18, 25-21, in Game One of the Shakey’s V-League Reinforced Conference semifinals at the PhilSports Arena.
The Tigresses struggled to limit their errors and field their first touches. In turn, the Lady Warriors zoomed to easy leads in each of the sets to come away with a quick win.
Pocari Sweat swaggered to a 19-10 advantage in the first set, then erased a 17-15 UST lead in the second frame, taking the next nine points to bury the Tigresses. The España spikers unraveled in the third set as Pocari’s Brea Mackie led a 16-8 flourish to finish the match.
“I guess mas maganda ang gising nila. Our reception today was great kaya naging nas madali for our setters to execute our plays. Hopefully, we can continue this all the way to the sa Game Two because wala naman na kaming major adjustments na kailangan gawin,” said Pocari Sweat head coach Rommel Abella.
Mackie led all scorers with 19 points, while Michele Gumabao and Andrea Kacsits each had 10 points.
Cherry Rondina was the lone bright spot for the Tigresses, scoring 12 points off 10 attacks and two aces.
Game Two is on Monday, 4 pm at the PhilSports Arena.
The Scores
Pocari Sweat (3) – Mackie 19, Gumabao 10, Kacsits 10, Pablo 8, Dadang 7, Tolenada 3, Alvarez 0, Tolenada 0, Gohing (L)
UST (0) – Rondina 12, Laure 8, Lastimosa 6, Meneses 6, Bicar 2, Palec 2, Cabanos 0, Cortez 0, Francisco 0, Rasmo (L), Rivera (L)
