Games this Friday
(The Arena, San Juan)
2 p.m. – FEU vs UST
4 p.m. – Adamson vs SSC

University of Santo Tomas and Adamson University try to forge an intriguing championship showdown when they shoot for the deciding second wins against their respective semifinals rivals this Friday in the sixth Shakey’s V-League at The Arena in San Juan.

Both UST and Adamson gained a head start in their semis series after scoring contrasting wins in Game 1 of their respective best-of-three series last Tuesday and a victory today would set up a best-of-three title series.

The Tigresses posted a straight-set win over the Far Eastern University Lady Tams, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20, while the Lady Falcons went through the wringer before pulling off a stunning 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-11, 15-11 win over defending champion San Sebastian in the tourney presented by Shakey’s Pizza and organized by Sports Vision.

UST tangles with FEU in the 2 p.m. opener with history and statistics leaning toward the Tigresses, who are hoping to clinch their eighth straight finals appearance.

The Tigresses, who own the most number of titles with four, have been in the finals in all of the seven conferences they participated in.

Adamson, meanwhile, collides with SSC at 4 p.m. with the Lady Falcons eyeing a second finals stint since beating Ateneo for the first conference crown last year.

The rubber matches, if necessary, will be played on Sunday, while the best-of-three Finals is scheduled to start on Tuesday.

UST coach Shaq delos Santos hopes their hard work in the season will finally reward his wards with another championship stint.

“It’s been a long journey. And with the way they played last time, I think we can do it (beat FEU again today),” said Delos Santos, whose wards posted an impressive 10-2 record after the elimination and quarterfinal rounds.

The key for UST’s victory will be its defense.

The Tigresses had 13 blocks as they held FEU top scorers Cherry Vivas and Shaira Gonzales to only nine and eight points, respectively. Prior to the semifinals, Vivas, the league’s leading scorer, normed 19 points while had Gonzales 17.

To stop UST, FEU must contain the troika of skipper Aiza Maizo, Angeli Tabaquero, and Maru Banaticla, who combined for the bulk of the Tigresses’ output the last time out.

Angela Benting, who recorded the league and career-best 37 points, is again expected to lead Adamson’s assault.

San Sebastian is expected to come out fiercer today as Margarita Pepito will be in her true potential after spraining her ankle in Game One.

Pepito got injured in the first set after a bad fall, and without her, SSC blew its 2-1 set lead.